FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Megan Arendt
Office: 202-659-4310
Email: arendtm@ash.org
ASH Releases Video to Showcase a New Ending to the Tobacco Story
The World We Need
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 17, 2016 – One person dies every six seconds from a tobacco-related disease. We have the power to change that, to save those friends and family members from vanishing out of our lives. Instead of losing people, we should make tobacco products vanish.
Watch the latest video from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) which depicts our current reality of losing friends and family members to tobacco-related diseases. The video then changes to show an alternative; a future we can build where tobacco products vanish instead of loved ones. 
Tobacco products are the only consumer products that kill when used exactly as their manufacturers intend. They don’t require overuse or misuse, which makes their availability and existence a public health epidemic.
Building a truly tobacco-free world is completely possibly with progressive policy changes. Across the U.S., cities and states have begun increasing the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, including ASH’s hometown of Washington, DC. This is a major step toward protecting vulnerable populations and our youth from becoming addicted to nicotine, a substance more addictive than alcohol, heroin, or cocaine.
Raising the age to purchase tobacco products is an important step. However, there is much more to be done. We need to increase tobacco taxes, implement better warning labels, increase public education around tobacco, and hold the tobacco industry accountable.
“For 50 years, ASH has sought to end the worldwide damage, disease, and death caused by tobacco products. We’ve fought to remove cigarette commercials on TV and radio, for smoke-free air ordinances, for a strong international tobacco control treaty, and for global targets to reduce tobacco use as a part of global development initiatives. But the best way to reduce and end tobacco’s damage on our society would be for tobacco products themselves to vanish,” said Laurent Huber, Executive Director of ASH.
ASH’s video illustrates that tobacco is still a major public health threat. We have won some battles but not the war. With dedication to proven best practices, we can achieve a healthy and tobacco free world.
A special thank you to David’s Natural Market in MD for the filming space, along with Carlton Colby Designs, Raquel Zuniga, Tyler Bruce, Margaret Ristaino, Nicolas Mackall, Brooks Eure, Marcus Burnette, and Peter Broomfield.
##
ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the nation’s oldest anti-tobacco organization dedicated to health for all. ASH was formed in 1967 in response to the U.S. Surgeon General Report in order to use legal action to fight tobacco and protect nonsmokers. Today, because tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, ASH uses global tools to counter the global tobacco epidemic. Learn more about our programs at www.ash.org.
Follow us on Twitter @ASHOrg and Facebook www.Facebook.com/ASHglobalAction