Young people gathered in Ashgabat for the workshop “Generation Smoke-Free: Youth Leading the Change”, an interactive initiative aimed at strengthening tobacco prevention efforts and promoting healthy lifestyles among youth.

Organized in the lead-up to World No Tobacco Day, the workshop aligned with the 2026 global theme, “Unmasking the appeal – countering nicotine and tobacco addiction,” which highlights how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to market harmful products to young people through modernized branding and attractive messaging.

The event brought together students of the Myrat Garryyev State University, which are the members of the Youth4Health network to engage in dialogue-based learning and collaborative problem-solving around tobacco prevention. Unlike traditional lecture-based approaches, the workshop encouraged participants to critically examine social and behavioural drivers influencing tobacco use and to develop their own evidence-based solutions and communication strategies.

Through structured group work, role-based exercises, and peer discussions, participants explored issues such as social pressure, stress, identity, and misconceptions surrounding smoking and nicotine products. Working in teams, they designed youth-led mini campaigns featuring campaign names, slogans, target audiences, and health promotion messages aimed at reinforcing non-smoking as a positive social norm among young people.

The workshop emphasized the importance of youth engagement in public health decision-making and recognized young people not only as beneficiaries of tobacco control policies, but also as active contributors and future leaders in health promotion.

The initiative aimed to strengthen critical thinking, peer advocacy, and leadership skills while collecting youth perspectives that can help inform future tobacco control strategies and interventions in Turkmenistan. Expected outcomes included stronger alignment with non-smoking norms, increased understanding of the drivers of tobacco use, and enhanced capacity for peer education and advocacy.

By creating a space where young people could openly reflect, exchange ideas, and develop solutions together, the workshop demonstrated the value of participatory approaches in building healthier communities and protecting future generations from nicotine addiction.