Today is the Great American Smokeout, the day that the American Cancer Society hopes will be the first smoke-free day for more smokers.Does quitting for just one day make a difference? The latest studies say yes; a study out this week showed that smokers aged 65 and older who used
Images of rotten teeth and cancerous lungs on cigarette packs in Australia have commanded much of the recent attention in the global war between health advocates and the tobacco industry. But next year a battle over a little-known trade treaty could discourage other nations from adopting tobacco controls as stringent
Reps. Waxman, DeGette, and Pallone Renew Call for FDA Regulation of E-Cigarettes WASHINGTON, DC— Today Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette, and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg warning that
Young New Yorkers who want to light up will soon have to wait for their 21st birthdays before they can buy a pack of smokes after lawmakers in the nation’s most populous city voted overwhelmingly to raise the tobacco-purchasing age from 18 to 21. The City Council’s vote Wednesday makes
33rd Congressional District of California Rep. Henry A. Waxman For Immediate Release: October 30, 2013 Karen Lightfoot (Waxman): (202) 225-5735 Doug Molof (Doggett): (202) 225-4865 Chris Meagher (Capps): (202) 225-3601 Reps. Waxman, Doggett, Capps, and Over 50 Members Urge Administration to Strengthen Tobacco Proposal for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement WASHINGTON,
Smoking may be under siege, but it is still the world’s second-biggest cause of preventable death. Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people every year, approximately 10 percent of all deaths. Smoking also results in hundreds of billions of dollars in economic costs from increased health care expenditure and lost productivity.
The impact of trade on tobacco can seem complicated, but there are only 5 main things you need to know. Number 1: Tobacco is unique among consumer products. When used exactly as intended, tobacco products kill. Therefore, tobacco should be exempted or “carved out” from trade agreements. Number 2: Free
This week there has been discussions between leaders from the Pacific Rim over the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Bali, Indonesia at APEC. President Barack Obama has demanding a ‘trade promotion authority’ from the United States Congress to fast-track the Pacific Rim treaty, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[1] The fast-track authority plays a pivotal
State Legislators sent a joint letter to President Obama to urge U.S. Trade Policy to support State & Federal policies to reduce tobacco use and promote health. Read their full letter here. Joint Letter to President Obama
PHI Letter to White House regarding Tobacco Control and the Trans-Pacific Partnership October 3, 2013 President Barack H. Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: I am writing on behalf of the Public Health Institute (PHI), a nonprofit that generates and promotes research,
Euro MPs have voted to tighten tobacco regulations aimed at putting young people off smoking, but some measures do not go as far as originally planned. They rejected a European Commission proposal to treat electronic cigarettes as medicinal products – a move that would have restricted sales. They backed a
President Barack Obama‘s absence from a meeting of leaders from Asia Pacific dealt a symbolic blow to efforts to forge a regional trade pact. But Mr. Obama’s no-show, due to the drama of debt-ceiling talks in Washington, has little practical effect on the trade talks. Before news of Mr. Obama’s
There are less than 850 days remaining until the current MDGs expire. This past week at the UN General Assembly, member states gathered together to discuss progress on the MDGs to date and looked forward to the post-2015 development agenda. They renewed their commitment to achieve the MDGs by the
Yesterday, the Special Event on Millennium Development goals or MDGs allowed country delegates to discuss their development progress to date. Some distinguished speakers from around the world also spoke. Our Executive Director Laurent Huber was there. Throughout the event, the delegates discussed the important work taking place on the MDGs,
Noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs for short, are diseases you can’t just catch; they are caused by various risk factors. Some examples of NCDs are heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, and cancer. NCDs are a major threat to global health and development. These diseases are spreading at a rapid rate in
The 68th United Nations General Assembly began yesterday. Everyone is excited and charged up to see what will come out of this week, including us at ASH. At all of the events that we’ve attended so far, civil society has been encouraged to be involved in the post-2015 development agenda.
Tobacco sickens and, eventually, can kill if consumed as intended. Every country, the United States included, should be taking every effective step to prevent smoking. The costs and benefits of free trade are clear, but, as recent presidents, Republican and Democratic, have recognized, the long-term gains to society outweigh the
Honduras is reviving its complaint to the World Trade Organization over Australia’s standardized tobacco packaging law, according to a story by Tom Miles for Reuters. The complaint, that Australia’s tobacco-packaging requirements create obstacles to world trade, had lain dormant, but now Honduras has asked for a WTO meeting on Sept.
ASH Director Laurent Huber appeared on Fox 5 DC to discuss the success of the CDC’s graphic anti-tobacco ad campaign (which helped nearly 100,000 people quit smoking) and the work that is still needed to help combat the global tobacco epidemic. DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG
Global trade negotiations in Washington this week will determine how cigarette companies will be able to market their products in developing nations—and potentially, overturn smoking restrictions around the world. As cigarette smoking has fallen in the United States and Europe thanks to public health laws and liability lawsuits, global tobacco
Even well-informed people shake their heads in disbelief when they hear that tobacco killed 100 million persons in the 20th century and is projected to kill a billion in the 21st century. It is only when they are told that these are authentic estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO)
An estimated 1.6 million Americans tried to quit and at least 100,000 likely succeeded as a result of graphic anti-smoking ads, a new study says. Want a smoker to quit? Scare, shock or disgust him. That’s what the U.S. government did with its first federally funded anti-smoking ad campaign and,
The U.S. has a rare opportunity this week to rein in the tobacco industry, and assert its mandate to protect and save lives, while proudly exercising cross-border diplomacy. The U.S. Trade Representative should accept a proposal to carve protections for Big Tobacco out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a
E-cigarettes have been surging in popularity, and a new government study suggests this effect is trickling down to U.S. teens. Electronic cigarettes’ popularity and safety concerns on the rise New findings from a national survey on youth tobacco use showed that the percentage of middle and high school students using
Should tobacco be like any other product in U.S. trade? The question bedeviled U.S. policymakers for decades, but it has now arisen again, with much controversy, in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pending trade deal between the United States and eleven other countries. The White House has
