In 2014, ASH succeeded in:
- Blocking tobacco industry attempts to derail the negotiations of the Tobacco Treaty (FCTC): The global tobacco treaty has been a catalyst for global change, and since its entry into force, many countries around the world have begun implementing its life changing measures. This year, the 179 countries that are Parties to the World Health Organization (WHO) treaty met to negotiate key guidelines to assist with the implementation of one of its most important measures: price and tax measures to decrease the use of tobacco. The tobacco industry tried to block the adoption of these guidelines. However, ASH coordinated a coalition of 100s of non-governmental organizations from around the world that were able to unite in blocking the tobacco industry’s attempts to derail the negotiations, and these very important guidelines passed without changes. Implementation of these efficient price measures will keep cigarettes away from children and will motivate millions of smokers to quit.
- Including tobacco control in United Nations draft Sustainable Development Goals:
ASH’s campaign at the United Nations in New York resulted in the inclusion of a tobacco control target in the draft United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that will replace the Millennium Development Goals. These Sustainable Development Goals will be negotiated until September 2015. If we are able to keep tobacco as a target, it will elevate tobacco control measures to help stop the tobacco epidemic and will become a priority at the national level in most countries around the world. - Educating the public health community on the implementation of effective tobacco policy: ASH launched two groundbreaking reports ( “Avoidable Death” and “FCTC Implementation Guide”) for public health professionals on the progress that has been made since the first Surgeon General’s (SG) Report on Smoking in 1964, and on the conclusions of what still needs to be done from the 2014 SG report. Our Implementation Guide is a tool to implement effective policy measures, and the associated database is a fantastic resource for those efforts. The use of our guide and database could have resounding implications for U.S. tobacco control policy in all 50 states.
- Working for unique treatment of tobacco under 2 massive free trade agreements: ASH continued its efforts to achieve unique treatment for tobacco under two milestone free trade agreements being negotiated: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Success will mean that the tobacco industry will be denied new privileges and rights under the agreements, such as the right to directly sue governments (including US state and local governments) over measures to reduce tobacco use. Following our extensive work to organize an international coalition of support, ASH learned that the US intends to propose excluding tobacco from at least the investment chapter of the TPPA, thus stopping industry lawsuits. If the proposal becomes part of the eventual agreement, it will fundamentally change, for the better, the landscape for the relationship between trade rules and the fight against the tobacco epidemic, especially since the TPPA has been touted as the “model 21st century trade agreement.”
- Conducting investigations into liability options domestically and abroad: ASH has partnered with legal clinics to conduct investigations into liability options domestically and abroad. The findings from this research have been written into several legal briefs, which have been discussed with and evaluated by numerous stakeholders. This research was presented to a national audience of public health professionals at the American Public Health Conference.
Here’s our promise to you: you can change the world for the better, right now, with your gift to ASH. And, there is an opportunity for you to help even more through our STAND Matching Gift Campaign (Stand Tall Against Needless Death). Your support will have double the impact thanks to the generosity of a few donors who have pledged to match every donation, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000 until January 1, 2015.
We take pride in our partnership with you for a world free from the devastation, disease, and death caused by tobacco. That is why in 2015 we will strive to:
- Lead our global coalition: We will continue to lead a global coalition of over 500 organizations from more than 100 countries to help accelerate the implementation of the global tobacco treaty that has the potential to save 100s of millions of lives if governments work to implement the treaty immediately.
- Include tobacco in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Inclusion of tobacco control as a target under the health goal in the Sustainable Development Goals that will replace the Millennium Development Goals and will help generate action at the national level to curb the tobacco epidemic in most countries around the world. This will lead to accelerated action to curb tobacco use. ASH will work with its public health and global development allies to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. 2015 is the most critical time for this campaign as new Sustainable Development Goals will be adopted by September 2015. That is why ASH will continue to push for the inclusion of tobacco control measures in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
- Educate U.S. representatives: We will continue our work to certify more U.S. Representatives/Senators and Universities as “Free From Tobacco Money”. We will also educate legislators, policy makers, tobacco advocates, and public health advocates with our effective tobacco control resources, and we will publicize tobacco industry interference through political contributions and corporate social responsibility schemes.
- Ensure unique treatment for tobacco in trade agreements: 2015 will be a pivotal year in ASH’s trade work. It is expected that the TPPA negotiations will be completed. ASH and its partners will work to ensure that unique treatment for tobacco survives the political process, as the tobacco industry and its allies in Congress work to overturn the US exclusion proposal. TTIP negotiations will enter a new phase in which individual chapters and products will be discussed, and ASH will work with its allies in Europe to ensure similar treatment for tobacco as in the TPPA.
- Present our research on liability options: We will host a panel with key stakeholders to present our research to an international group of tobacco control experts at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health. At the same event, ASH will host a workshop focused on helping lawyers from 10 countries understand possible litigation options and how to initiate those options in their home countries. Our goal is to publish this information in 2015, in order to inform a broader group of practitioners about litigation options. ASH will continue its work with legal clinics and continue to expand the scope of this program.
Your donation to support the work we’ve laid out for 2015 will make a world of a difference. So let’s fulfill our STAND Matching Grant to support ASH in our 2015 initiatives and to support some of our most time sensitive work yet. We cannot combat the tobacco industry and ensure the implementation of effective policies that protect everyone’s health without your help!
This year will be hard to top, but with your support and our STAND Matching Gift Campaign, we can ensure that next year is even more of a success than this year.
Please STAND with us by making as generous a gift as you can.