The harmful impacts of smoking go well beyond each individual smoker. Cigarettes have a negative impact on the environment throughout their entire life cycle – from growing the tobacco to disposing of the butts. ASH blogs have highlighted several of the environmental harms of tobacco, including cigarette butt pollution. In
December 10th is recognized worldwide as Human Rights Day. It commemorates the anniversary of the day that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The UDHR and other human rights treaties, both international and regional, protect myriad rights around the world, including
The tobacco epidemic continues to spread around the world. Tobacco is unique – no other product kills half of its consumers when used exactly as intended. If tobacco products were released as new products today, they would quickly be banned, and civil and criminal cases would be brought against tobacco
ASH’s tobacco criminal liability program was created to investigate the possibility of holding tobacco corporations and their executives criminally liable for the millions of tobacco-related deaths. The tobacco and human rights program is related; it seeks to investigate the use of international and regional human rights bodies and treaties as
In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges that girls face around the world. Girls and women around the world face challenges unique to their gender- discrimination, violence, education disparities- but one issue
Recently, a landmark case was decided in federal court in Georgia. The subject of the case? Peanut butter. The Peanut Butter Case: United States of America vs. Stewart Parnell From 2008-2009, there was an outbreak of salmonella infections in the U.S., an epidemic eventually linked to contaminated peanut butter. As
Earlier this month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures showing that tobacco and cigarette consumption in Australia have dropped dramatically. Household tobacco consumption and expenditure volume has dropped 17.5% in the last two and a half years. This extraordinary decline can be linked to two things. First, Australia has
An article written by ASH Staff Attorney Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy was recently published in the American Bar Association’s “International Law News.” The article discusses the growing problem of tobacco use in Latin American countries. There are 145 million current smokers in Latin America, more than half of whom will die from
Marlboro’s “Be Marlboro” campaign is in the news again – this time because of a copyright claim. Since 2011, Philip Morris International (PMI), which owns the Marlboro brand, has been running its “Be Marlboro” campaign in several countries. The ads depict parties, clubs, sports and other images clearly targeted at
In Tasmania, Australia last week, a bill was introduced to the Legislative Council that would create a “Tobacco Free Generation.” You can read the draft text of the bill here>. The phrase tobacco free generation is used widely and it often has different meanings. Some use it to describe a
In the past few years, several localities have increased the minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21. The first to increase the minimum sales age to 21 was Needham, MA, a suburb of Boston, in 2005. Following implementation of the law, smoking rates among Needham high-school students dropped almost
Several cities raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 Increasing the minimum age is very important because 95% of smokers start by their early twenties. The cities that have taken this life saving step include Healdsburg, CA; Englewood, NJ; Melrose, MA; and Evanston, IL. See more about
Philip Morris International was fined in Brazil for targeting youth The consumer protection agency from the Brazilian state of São Paulo has fined Philip Morris over $480,000. The agency acted after a formal complaint was filed against Philip Morris by tobacco control activists who documented how its marketing tactics in
In the past, the United States has been a leader in tobacco control. For the last 15 years, though, the U.S. has been falling behind as other countries have moved to protect their people from tobacco addiction and death. For example, when it comes to tobacco prices, there are huge
More organizations have revealed thecomments that they submitted to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on whether certain tobacco products should fall under the agency’s authority. Aug. 8 was the deadline for interested parties to submitpublic comments to the FDA on the proposed tobacco “deeming” regulations–“Deeming Tobacco Products to
MIAMI — A jury in northwestern Florida awarded a staggering $23 billion judgment late Friday against the country’s second-largest tobacco company for causing the death of a chain smoker who died of lung cancer at the age of 36. The company, the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, promised a prompt
In 2013, New York City passed a law (Local Law 1021-A-2013) that sets a minimum price for cigarettes sold in the city. The law also prohibits the use of coupons or promotional discounts to lower that price. Tobacco companies challenged the law on the grounds that it violated their First
A ruling has finally been made on the plan submitted by tobacco companies to place ads that apologize for misleading the public about the dangers of smoking. Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court said that the revised plan can go ahead. Only problem is that only 13 black
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected efforts by the tobacco industry to derail thousands of Florida smoker lawsuits, leaving intact 11 awards totaling more than $70 million. Full Article>
Cigarette butts are the most littered item worldwide. Smokers litter cigarette butts rather than disposing of them properly 65% of the time, which results in approximately 845,000 tons (1.69 BILLION pounds) of cigarette butts as toxic trash each year. Data shows that “in 2010, over one million (1,181,589) cigarettes or
A Federal High Court in Nigeria recently upheld the power of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to impound products considered to be harmful or that constitute a health hazard to the unsuspecting Nigerian public – in this case, cigarettes. In February 2013, CPC made an inspection visit to the Nigerian
The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history, dramatically changed tobacco control in the United States. The settlement, between the major tobacco companies (Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, and Lorillard) and 46 U.S. States, banned advertising that targets children, eliminated billboard advertising, and
This January marked the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon’s General report on Smoking and Health. On that anniversary, a new Surgeon General’s report, The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress, was released. Read the report here> That report indicates that since the first report in 1964, more than
Since e-cigarettes hit the market, they have been the subject of intense debate. Are electronic cigarettes a cessation tool or an alternative smoking device? Should they be subject to the same smoke-free air laws as tobacco products? Should they be taxed at a similar rate as cigarettes? In Toulouse, France,
Last month, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the case of Burrage v. United States. The case focuses on a federal law that requires a mandatory sentence for a drug dealer if “death or serious injury” results from drugs they sold. During oral arguments, much of the court’s discussion focused
