Endgame Training Course

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Advancing Momentum for a Tobacco-Free California

CA Vision, Purpose, GoalsEvery 10 seconds, someone dies of a tobacco-related disease. This fact is especially painful because the tobacco epidemic is one of the leading preventable causes of death and disability among adults in the world today. In addition, passive smoking has a major effect upon health, especially of children. ASH has been fighting tobacco since 1967. Our longevity is not necessarily something to celebrate – “mission accomplished” would mean going out of business, joyfully. Like most tobacco control organizations, ASH’s vision is a world free from tobacco-caused death and disease. But also like most tobacco control organizations, our campaigns sought to mitigate the epidemic, not end it. For ASH, that changed about five years ago. The catalyst for the change at ASH was the adoption of a human rights-based approach to the tobacco epidemic. Analyzing the commercialization of tobacco products through that lens leads to an obvious conclusion: this stuff must be removed from the market. As the Danish Institute for Human Rights put it:

“Tobacco is deeply harmful to human health, and there can be no doubt that the production and marketing of tobacco is irreconcilable with the human right to health. For the tobacco industry, the United Nations Guiding Principles therefore require the cessation of the production and marketing of tobacco.”

To be honest, many of our colleagues thought we were a little crazy to espouse phasing out the sale of tobacco products. But the idea got a huge boost when the State of California decided to put its weight behind a true tobacco endgame campaign. This represents a paradigm shift in public health. California and its allies are no longer interested in just “controlling” tobacco. They’re in it to end it. Many experts now endorse endgame, and there are serious endgame movements materializing worldwide. But as it has been for other progressive issues, including the Smokefree Air movement, California is the tip of the spear. It’s an exciting time to work in public health in California, and ASH is proud to be a small part of the effort to once again show the world how it’s done.

Visit our separate campaign webpage here>

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Resources
Case Studies Podcast Communications Toolkit
  • Contact Carol Maytum via maytumc@ash.org for Press Release Tips and Op-Ed and Letter to the Editor (LTE) Tips
  • Tips for Social Media Responses and Engagement – coming soon
  • Sample Social Media Posts – coming soon
  • Free Graphic Design Website: Canva
Hear from ASH Policy Director Chris Bostic on endgame in California:
ASH hosts regular educational webinars for public health advocates to learn from each other and strengthen our tobacco control work. Combined slides for the Webinar above are found here>

Recordings from all previous webinars are available to watch here.

You can sign up here to receive email notifications of all future webinars too.
Training and Technical Assistance

Complete this form to request a training or technical assistance from ASH.

Submit the form to Carol Maytum via maytumc@ash.org

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