Media Contact: Megan Manning ManningM@ash.org (202) 390 – 9513 New Report Outlines Increase in Tobacco Companies Interfering in U.S. Public Health Policymaking Safeguards are Needed to Ensure Public Health Goals are Prioritized Over Industry Profits WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 5, 2023 – Today, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) released
Statement from Laurent Huber, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health, Supporting British Prime Minister’s Smoke-Free Generation Proposal October 4, 2023 Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) welcomes and applauds the announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak detailing his government’s plans to introduce a bill forever banning the
On August 24, 2023, The New York Times Style section published an article – “A Viral Cigarette Brand? In 2023?” – about a cigarette startup company using social media to spread its message. The article was so glowing that the company thanked them publicly. We won’t want to use the
The FDA Continues to Delay Protecting Americans from Mentholated Cigarettes August 2023 was the deadline announced by FDA to propose a rule WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 31, 2023 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) missed their self-imposed deadline to propose a life-saving rule to ban menthol as a
By Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, ASH and Dr. Raglan Maddox, ANU College of Health and Medicine While commercial tobacco use negatively impacts the right to health of all people, there are many groups whom have been intentionally targeted by the tobacco industry and their affiliates.[1] Groups have had their culture exploited for
Media Contact: Megan Manning ManningM@ash.org (202) 390 – 9513 208 Organizations Unite to Call on UN Committee to Recommend Stronger Tobacco Control Policies The UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is making recommendations on Racism and the Right to Health for its 182 party
August 1st is World Lung Cancer Day. Like most special days, World Lung Cancer Day is a recent addition to the calendar; the first was in 2012. Unlike the topics of many special days – for example, World Kitten Day (July 10th, sorry we missed it) – lung cancer is
Author: Benjamin Verhagen, ASH Policy Intern June 2023 – the Truth Initiative held a Congressional Briefing and presentation of their “Black Lives/Black Lungs” short films. The films center on the effects of tobacco products, specifically menthol cigarettes, on African American communities over the past several decades. The creator of these
Black Americans have been intentionally targeted by the tobacco industry for decades. As a result, nearly 9 out of 10 of African Americans that smoke, smoke menthols. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is fighting back and calling on the international human rights body, CERD, to ask the United States to protect
Author: Vela Sree, ASH Policy Intern In many societies, smoking has been traditionally portrayed as a male habit, leading to a lack of awareness and recognition of women as tobacco users. This social perception contributes to the stigma and social disapproval faced by women who smoke, making it more challenging
After planting an apple tree, it will be years before you get an actual apple. But it is very satisfying when you do, and that first apple will taste all the sweeter because you planted it. ASH and our supporters planted a seed over five years ago when we launched
Tobacco Industry Lobbyists Undermine Public Health “There is an irreconcilable conflict between the goals of tobacco companies and the goals of public health,” said Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, Managing Attorney at ASH. “We must exclude tobacco companies from regulating their own products, as the global tobacco treaty, the FCTC, recommends. Where that’s
Eleven years old is way too young to walk into a store and be able to buy a pack of cigarettes. That’s how old I was when I experimented with my first cigarette. I was a shy but very curious and smart little kid and no one in my family
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 New Data Compilation Shows Scope of Tobacco Industry Lobbying in the U.S. Tobacco Companies Hire Hundreds of Lobbyists as They Post Court-Ordered Signs about Decades of Lies WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 14, 2023 – Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) released a
Agenda Item 4 of the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC2) Option 2 – Possible core obligation: banning, phasing out and/or reducing the use of problematic and avoidable plastic products I am speaking on
June 2, 2023 – A sense of forward motion. No matter how many treaties have been negotiated throughout history, each one is terra incognita. Planning and agenda setting is imperative but the people drawing up those plans are not seers. Expecting to follow a strict timeline or even using it
June 1, 2023 – Now for the hard part. Today the INC continued in “contact groups” (breakout groups, really). Dividing in two brings the prospect of doubling output. I’m not sure if output doubles, but if it does, it may be less about doubling the conversations and more about halving
May 31, 2023 – Breakthrough!? Day three technically began at midnight as the working group trying to sort out the rules of procedure toiled until 1 am. They reported back to the full plenary at a more reasonable hour this morning with an interpretative statement that they asked to be
Wednesday, 31 May 2023 Delivered by: Christopher Chin, Executive Director, The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE) On behalf of: COARE, the Center for Biological Diversity, Action on Smoking and Health, and Corporate Accountability International Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, dear Colleagues, Ladies, Gentlemen,
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 PARIS, FRANCE – May 31, 2023 – On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, health and environmental advocates gathered at the UN Plastic Treaty Conference in Paris to call for the elimination of cigarette filters. They drew attention to the fact
May 30, 2023 – Writing after 9:00 pm Paris time, Day 2 is not over, and the most important part of today is likely still ahead of us. In fact, it is almost certainly ahead of us, since nothing has been accomplished yet today. For these final few hours, the
May 29, 2023 – Today launched the second negotiating session of the UN treaty to end plastic pollution, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. We have five days to debate one of the most important issues facing humanity – catastrophic levels of plastic pollution. In one way, this was personally
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 Tobacco Harms Health and the Environment: Urgent Action Needed at the UN World No Tobacco Day is May 31, falling during the second round of negotiations for the UN Plastic Pollution Treaty in Paris, France from May 29 – June 2, 2023
Today, May 21, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) by the World Health Assembly. The FCTC is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO, and it entered into force on February 27, 2005. To many,
If you could press a button and save lives, how long would you wait to press it? 1 minute? 1 hour? How about a day or a week? What about a year? Today (April 28, 2023) marks one year since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced their proposed rule
