Action
on
Smoking
and
Health
(ASH)
is a national nonprofit
legal action and educational organization that fightsf or the rights of
nonsmokers against the many problems of smoking. ASH uses the
tremendous power of the law to represent nonsmokers in courts and
legislative bodies, and before regulatory agencies. For more than
40
years, ASH has been one
of the most effective antismoking and nonsmokers' rights organizations
in the world.
ASH was formed in 1967 by
Executive
Director John F. Banzhaf III,
and a distinguished body of physicians, attorneys and other prominent
citizens who saw the need for an effective organization to represent
nonsmokers' rights. Although
its
income
is
tiny
compared with much larger
national health organizations also active in the field – in part
because
it receives no money from the government or from the multi-state
tobacco
settlement – ASH has been a
major force in the war against smoking. For this reason, and because
of its location in the nation's media center, ASH has also emerged as a
major spokesperson for nonsmokers on radio and television and in the
print media.
Also, unlike the many smaller state,
local and specialty antismoking
organizations with which it cooperates closely, ASH is active with
regard to all aspects of the problems of smoking and nonsmokers'
rights, and has a truly national focus. Also, more recently, ASH
again
engineered a major expansion of its focus to
become a leading – if not THE
leading player – in the
international
war on smoking, by leading and serving as secretariat of the Framework
Convention Alliance [FCA], an umbrella organization made up of hundreds
of individual organizations in more than 100 countries all working to
enforce and effectuate the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
[FCTC]; the world's first international antismoking and nonsmokers'
rights treaty.
One of ASH's major roles
in the U.S. is to serve as a think tank and
incubator for
new strategies and tactics, and as a vehicle for propagating these new
ideas to other antismoking organizations, legislators and regulators,
and the general public. Thus ASH was out in front in proclaiming
nicotine as a addictive drug, in urging bans on smoking not only in
indoor public areas and workplaces, but also outdoors and in private
apartments and homes where necessary to protect adjacent apartment
dwellers and children living in the home, in pressing for lower health
insurance rates for nonsmokers, and in many other areas.
ASH was the first major
organization to publicize how as little as 30
minutes of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke could cause a fatal
heart attack in nonsmokers, the dangers of Polonium 210 in tobacco
smoke, and the dangers of thirdhand tobacco smoke. It was ASH
which first argued that courts can and should issue orders prohibiting
smoking around children involved in divorce proceedings, and around
foster children – a new movement which has now also led to
bans on
smoking
in cars when children are present.
More recently, ASH has led the fight to require e-cigarettes to be
regulated, and to protect bystanders from the risks posed when these
new and "illegal" [FDA] products are used in areas where the smoking of
conventional tobacco cigarettes is prohibited. ASH also
helped develop and promote the concept that nonsmokers should pay less
than smokers for health insurance.
ASH's Accomplishments During 2009
ASH filed a citizens’ legal petition with the Food and Drug
Administration [FDA] urging the agency to take action concerning the
importation and sale of e-cigarettes. This is similar to the
citizens’ legal petition ASH filed many years ago which urged the
agency to take action regarding a very similar product – Favor
imitation cigarettes – which ultimately led to their ban. The
FDA is now reportedly restricting the importation of e-cigarettes into
the U.S., and is involved in a battle in the courts concerning its
jurisdiction over e-cigarettes.
ASH filed a motion to intervene in the nature of a brief amicus curiae
in response to a complaint filed with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal
that there had been discrimination based upon smoking. ASH
argued, in opposition to the complaint, that there is no legally
protected right to smoke, and that the tribunal has no authority to
consider such a complaint. No further action appears to have been
taken regarding the complaint.
ASH filed a brief amicus curiae before the Quebec Commission on Human
Rights opposing a previously-filed complaint against a help-wanted ad
by the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health seeking an employee who is
not currently a smoker. ASH argued that the complaint was
baseless because there was no legally protected right to be a
smoker. It appears that no further action was taken regarding
this matter.
ASH produced a report on four new dangers to nonsmokers. This
report included information on the following topics: a “Shocking”
Amount of Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke in “Smokefree” New York
City; E-CIGARETTES -- ASH Legal Complaint Hits E-Cigarettes: New
Product Poses Dangers For Both Smokers and Nonsmokers; Third Hand
Smoke Can Pose Serious Risks for Nonsmokers, Especially the Most
Sensitive; and Smokers' Breath Can Be Harmful to Health, Especially to
Children, the Elderly, and Those Especially Sensitive to Many Chemicals.
ASH researched existing law, and found legal theories – including a
potential action under the ADA – which could be filed on behalf of a
pregnant office worker who was very sensitive not only to tobacco
smoke, but also to tobacco smoke residue. ASH wrote a letter of
complaint about her situation which forced her employer to move
an office worker who smoked during his breaks to another
office. ASH shared this information – about how to file a
complaint based upon tobacco smoke residue – with the antismoking
community, and helped begin the movement against what is now known as
third-hand tobacco smoke.
ASH engaged in legal research which indicated that a new world treaty –
entitled the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” –
could be helpful in protecting the rights of nonsmokers around the
world because it is very similar to our “Americans With Disabilities
Act” which ASH used very successfully for that purpose. ASH
oversaw the production of four legal documents aimed at helping people
in other countries use this new treaty to protect nonsmokers, and made
these available to the antismoking community.
ASH’s appearance on a nationally broadcast NPR program triggered an
announcement by the FDA that e-cigarettes were an “illegal” product;
the first time such an announcement had been made.
ASH worked with and provided information to a Texas attorney who helped
to get a temporary restraining order, and then a permanent injunction,
prohibiting a neighbor from smoking in his apartment. The effect
of this law suit was to help establish an important precedent – in
Texas as well as elsewhere – to help protect nonsmokers from smoking
drifting into their homes.
ASH wrote to all of the nation’s attorneys general to be sure they were
aware of the health and other problems posed by e-cigarettes, and to
urge them to take legal action against this new problem. Several
attorneys general have now filed law suits aimed at the sale of these
products and, in at least one state, the sales seem to have ceased.
ASH collected and published the positions of virtually all of the major
antismoking organizations on the issue of e-cigarettes so that the
public and other antismoking organizations would be aware of their
concerns and of their warnings about the dangers of e-cigarettes.
This compilation has been used in several legal proceedings.
ASH sent a legal letter to Amazon.com warning the company of the
potential legal liability and other problems which could result if they
continued to sell e-cigarettes – a product which the FDA has declared
is “illegal” – including possible tort liability if one of the products
allegedly caused a health problem for a user or even a bystander.
Shortly thereafter they dropped the product.
ASH helped persuade Suffolk County, New York, to ban the use of
e-cigarettes wherever the use of conventional cigarettes is already
prohibited. ASH went further by publicizing the arguments which
helped persuade the legislators, as well as the decision itself, so
that it could create a favorable precedent for other jurisdictions.
ASH helped to publicize a memo by the Department of Department of
Housing and Urban Development [HUD] in which it "strongly encouraged"
all public housing authorities to ban smoking in their individual
housing units, citing the deadly health hazards, the increased risk of
fires and fire deaths, and the added cost to fumigate a unit formerly
occupied by a smoker. ASH added additional information and
support to the memo to benefit other antismoking activists.
ASH’s taped appearance for an NBC-TV Evening News broadcast, in which
it blasted the FDA for its inaction on e-cigarettes, was the catalyst
which caused the FDA to suddenly report that it found in samples of
e-cigarettes a variety of "toxic and carcinogenic chemicals" including
diethylene glycol, "an ingredient used in antifreeze, [which] is toxic
to humans"; "certain tobacco-specific nitrosamines which are human
carcinogens"; and that "tobacco-specific impurities suspected of being
harmful to humans - anabasine, myosmine, and B-nicotyrine - were
detected in a majority of the samples tested."
To deal with a growing topic of interest to ASH members, regulators,
Members of Congress, and others, ASH produced a report showing why it
is lawful – under two different federal rulings which ASH obtained –
for health insurance companies to charge nonsmokers less than smokers
for health insurance.
When an e-cigarette company sent a letter to a major Qatar newspaper
claiming that its article pointing out some of the dangers of
e-cigarettes reported by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] "could
lead to the deaths of smokers and electronic cigarette users” and
demanding a retraction, ASH responded. ASH’s letter pointed out
the possible bias of the letter writer, why the claim was an
exaggeration, and new dangers about e-cigarettes, including that they
“are potentially lethal to children." The newspaper did not retract the
story, and in nearby Dubai, the importation of e-cigarettes is being
blocked because of their potential dangers
ASH sent a legal letter to PayPal.com warning the company of the
potential legal liability and other problems which could result if they
continued to sell e-cigarettes – a product which the FDA has declared
is “illegal” – including possible tort liability if one of the products
allegedly caused a health problem for a user or even a bystander.
Shortly thereafter they stopped facilitating the sale of e-cigarettes.
ASH’s widespread warning – based upon published medical article by the
CDC and other entities and researchers – that exposure to secondhand
tobacco smoke for as little as 30 minutes can trigger a heart attack,
and that even such a brief exposure can increase a nonsmokers’ risk of
a heart attack virtually to that of a smoker, was widely adopted by
dozens of other health organizations. ASH revised and updated its
report to include additional research.
ASH prepared and obtained wide distribution of calculations showing
that John McCain’s status as a former smoker very dramatically
increased the chances that, should he be elected President, the chances
that his Vice President would have to take over were
considerable. The calculations also showed the corresponding risk
for Barack Obama who is a current smoker. Neither ASH nor any of
its staff ever takes any position or voices any support regarding any
candidate for public office.
ASH helped persuade the city of Belmont, California to ban smoking in
private apartments; a move which follows ASH’s earlier successes in
persuading other California jurisdictions to restrict or ban smoking in
apartments or in outdoor areas.
A 50% [61 cent] cigarette tax increase which ASH promoted was passed by
Congress. ASH had sent letters to each member of the Senate
summarizing arguments in favor of such an increase, including
historical benchmarks and generally accepted world norms, the enormous
benefits of such an increase, and a refutation of the tobacco
industry’s arguments against the increase. For example, ASH noted
that raising the federal cigarette tax to only $1/pack would save
900,000 lives annually, bring in almost $10 billion in increased
revenue, decrease smoking by kids by almost 10%, help persuade over 1
million current smokers to quit, and save about $1 billion in 5-year
health-care savings alone.
A RICO prosecution brought by the Department of Justice against the
major tobacco companies was upheld on appeal. ASH helped to start
the legal action by generating a memo suggesting legal theories which
was sent to Senator Dick Durbin. The result of this latest court
decisions was to uphold the
largest fraud, deception, RICO suit ever; one which involved a 50 year
conspiracy, as well as one imposing numerous legal restrictions
designed to protect children from becoming smokers.
When the FDA’s jurisdiction over e-cigarettes was attacked by an
e-cigarette company in U.S. District Court, ASH was the only
organization to enter the proceeding on behalf of the agency, filing no
fewer than four different pleadings. The result, however, was a
decision by the lower court judge which enjoined the FDA from stopping
imports of e-cigarettes. Fortunately, that injunction has now
been stayed by a unanimous decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
ASH helped persuade the state of New Jersey to follow the lead of
Suffolk County, New York, in banning the use of e-cigarettes wherever
the use of conventional cigarettes is already prohibited. ASH
went further by publicizing the arguments which helped persuade the
legislators as well as the decision itself so that it could create a
second favorable precedent for other jurisdictions. Virginia also
has a similar ban, although it was done by executive rather than
legislative action.
When the U.S. Congress began moving forward with regard to health care
reform, ASH formulated a proposal to permit higher premiums for smokers
as a way to force them to pay more of their fair share and to lower the
costs passed on to nonsmokers. ASH’s proposal to impose personal
responsibility on smokers was featured in and debated on a variety of
national television programs [e.g., on Fox News, MSNBC, etc.] as well
as in articles and on the Internet. ASH also sent dozens of
emails in support of the proposal to Members of Congress, and issued
numerous press releases explaining why it was fair to charge smokers
more for health insurance.
ASH also began revising and modernizing its award-winning Internet web
site, a process which also included creating new pages related to
legal, medical, and scientific issues, as well as updating many pages
which had been prepared earlier.
ASH's Effectiveness During 2009
Perhaps the most remarkable thing
about the many victories Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH) was able to achieve during the year 2009 was
that it was able to do so by spending just a few million dollars, and
only about one million domestically –
a drop in the bucket compared with many of the larger antismoking
organizations, including many with major grants, governmental support,
income from the multi-billion-dollar multi-state tobacco settlement,
and otherwise.
Although ASH's audited financial
report for the year 2009 is still
being prepared, ASH's fund raising expenses during the year
2008 mounted to only
about 5% of its total expenditures, and ASH spent only about 9% on
management and other general expenses – including mandatory
costs such
as the preparation of an annual report prepared by an outside auditor,
fees imposed by government, insurance and other necessary fees,
etc. In short, over 85% of
ASH's expenditures went to fight smoking and protect nonsmokers –
a record few other organizations can match.
Solely for the purpose of
permitting readers to more easily find
additional information about ASH – and about other charitable
organizations – we list below links to several organizations which
provide such information on line for visitors. The listing below
of any such information-providing organization does NOT suggest or
imply that the organization endorses or supports ASH in any way, nor
that ASH necessarily agrees with everything in the organization's report.
American
Institute
of
Philanthropy
(CharityWatch): http://www.charitywatch.orghttp://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html
*ASH meets all of the numerous BBB
standards
except
that it has not designated one Board member as a Treasurer.
Instead it has two different chief financial officers, and two separate
bookkeepers who produce an annual report audited by an independent
accounting firm.
The following information is taken from ASH's Audited
Financial Report for
2009: http://ash.org/auditedreport2009
Total income = $3,986,663
Program Expense 1: Public Education = $2,911,064 (75% of Total
Expenses)
Program Expense 2: Legal Action = $379,663 (10% of Total Expenses)
Total Program Services = $3,290,727 (85% of Total Expenses)
Fund Raising Expenses = $195,623 (5% of Total Expenses)
Administrative (Management and General) = $368,742 (10% of Total
Expenses)
Total End of Year Assets = $7,302,702
footer
Action on Smoking and Health
(ASH)
701 4th St. NW / Washington, DC
20001 / (202) 659-4310
A national nonprofit, scientific and educational organization founded
in 1967.
All donations are fully tax deductible.
