Why can healthier choices be so difficult, even when people know what is good for them? A new campaign from JA PreventNCD, called The Saboteurs, turns that question into a deliberately humorous concept. The campaign presents the environments around us as a group of “saboteurs” that quietly influence what we eat and drink, how active we are, and whether we use tobacco and nicotine products. Its central point is that individual behaviour does not happen in isolation.

The campaign focuses on four major areas of non-communicable disease prevention: alcohol, tobacco and nicotine, nutrition, and physical activity. These risk factors contribute substantially to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and other long-term conditions. JA PreventNCD notes that non-communicable diseases account for 91% of deaths and 87% of health loss in the EU, while 62% of NCD deaths are attributable to modifiable risk factors.

Rather than simply telling people to make better choices, The Saboteurs draws attention to the conditions that shape those choices. Price and affordability, availability, marketing, commercial practices, transport and urban planning, social and economic circumstances, public services and regulation can all make healthier behaviour either easier or harder. In the case of alcohol, for example, prevention therefore includes action on affordability, availability and marketing, alongside clear health information and access to support.

The broader message is that prevention works best when personal information and support are combined with healthier environments and effective public policy. JA PreventNCD estimates that around 1.8 million deaths from non-communicable diseases are considered avoidable each year in the WHO European Region, with around 60% potentially preventable through reduced exposure to risk factors and effective public health measures. The Saboteurs campaign invites both policymakers and the public to look beyond individual responsibility and ask a more useful question: what can we change around people to make healthier choices easier, fairer and more accessible?

More information and campaign materials are available at preventncd.eu/prevention (EU, September 2026)