Media Contact Megan Manning manningm@ash.org (202) 659 – 4310 Santa Cruz County’s First-in-the-World Cigarette Filter Ban Passed SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 29, 2024 – Today, the Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California finalized its approval of a ban on the sale of filtered cigarettes and cigars. The sales
ASH is privileged to work with amazing advocates and researchers around the world who give their time selflessly to help end the tobacco epidemic. We are not the biggest anti-tobacco group in the world (far from it), but we have been very impactful by leading the way into new horizons
Time and time again, Switzerland has prioritized the interests of the deadly tobacco industry over the interests and wishes of Swiss citizens, while publicly claiming to be fully committed to the universal protection of human rights. This new report exposes how Switzerland is failing to adequately protect human rights. Read
Media Contact: Megan Manning manningm@ash.org Press Release Below The tobacco industry is relentlessly targeting women worldwide, using advertisements that portray smoking as glamorous and sexy. But the truth is far darker: tobacco kills millions, and these aggressive marketing tactics violate women’s human rights. We Are Taking Action. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
Tobacco products are by far the biggest health scourge of the last 100 years, killing 100 million people in the 20th century and on track to kill 1 billion this century. In the U.S., tobacco will kill about 480,000 people this year, far more than AIDS, cocaine, heroin, alcohol, vehicular
Welcome to Plastic-Free July. As the northern hemisphere heads to the beach or the mountains for well-deserved R&R, Plastic-Free July is a reminder that the plastic pollution crisis is only getting worse and we have it in our power to make small decisions that, multiplied by many millions, can have
June 5th is World Environment Day. One might well ask – “Why is ASH marking this day? It’s an anti-tobacco group?” The number one source of global pollution – and the number one source of plastic pollution – is cigarette filters. Getting rid of them would go a long way
Yellowing teeth. Wrinkling skin. A dry as hell cough. We’ve all seen the ads showing the dangers of smoking cigarettes. In middle school, our teachers would pass out red ribbons and “D.A.R.E.” us to be drug free. “Just Say NO” still lingers in my brain all of these years later.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) is silently struggling in the battle against the tobacco epidemic that’s plaguing the World Health Organization region. Driven by a high rate of tobacco use, particularly among young people, smoking in EMRO is expected to increase by 2025, which is contrary to the trend in
April 30, 2024 – The fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a treaty to end plastic pollution was relatively grueling. Eight days (Weekend? What weekend?) with informal meetings for the three days leading up to the official start. ASH and its allies in the Stop Tobacco Pollution
April 18- 19, 2024, ASH hosted the first National Tobacco Endgame Summit in Washington, DC. It was the culmination of over a year of planning and comes at an opportune and exciting time as endgame policies are being implemented worldwide, with three Massachusetts towns joining Brookline in implementing Nicotine-Free Generation
Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations Move Forward with Strong Support for Banning Cigarette Filters WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 30, 2024 – The Fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding treaty on ending plastic pollution, adjourned April 29, 2024, in
April 28, 2024 – INC4 returned to full plenary for the first time in several days in order to discuss the possibility of intercessional work. Given the state of the draft text, it seems impossible to finish at INC5 in the absence of work over the next few months. –
April 27, 2024 – It is the fifth day of negotiations and fatigue is becoming evident as sessions go to 11:00pm and later, and the weekend brings no respite. Working groups are deep in text negotiations. And both contact groups that are negotiating our major interests will begin to move
April 26, 2024 – The third and fourth days of negotiations were spent discussing the minutiae of critical sections of the treaty. The highlight of the day came when Peru called for cigarette filters to be banned. Panama quickly supported them. Other notable news: – Switzerland, supported by four other
April 24, 2024 – Today the INC broke into groups to begin the arduous task of editing the zero draft. Even on the second day, the need for quick progress was recognized, and negotiations continued throughout the evening hours. This is when the work becomes a marathon; large delegations have
April 23, 2024 – Today was the opening of INC-4 and began with the opening plenary. The Chair – Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador – asked that delegations not make typical opening statements in order to save time. All the countries that produce oil or plastic precursor chemicals did so
April 22, 2024 – The fourth round of negotiations for the UN Treaty to End Plastic Pollution formally begins tomorrow, April 23rd, here in Ottawa. There has already been enough preliminary activity and speeches to warrant an early update. But it’s not great. As you may recall, ASH and our
Earth Day, first held in 1970, is an opportunity to raise awareness of our fundamental relationship with the environment around us and the vital need to protect and sustain it. The theme for Earth Day 2024 is “Planet vs Plastics,” which is particularly relevant for one of ASH’s most important
March 30th is the International Day of Zero Waste, to draw attention to the lack of sustainability in the way the world currently works. While we may differ on solutions, there is no longer doubt that we can’t keep going like this indefinitely. We are poisoning our planet and thereby
Stoneham and Wakefield become the second and third towns in Massachusetts to pass Nicotine-Free Generation In February 2024, the quest to end the tobacco epidemic suffered a blow when the new government in New Zealand rescinded their world-beating endgame law. But before the doors closed, the endgame horse had already
What is the WHO Tobacco Treaty (i.e. the FCTC)? The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a treaty that was formally negotiated by all Member States of the United Nations under the auspices of the World Health Organization, a subsidiary body of the United Nations,
Reproductive rights. Protection from gender-based violence. Maternity leave. Workplace discrimination. These are the topics that usually come to mind when one thinks about women’s rights. But one important protection is often left off of the list – tobacco control. Tobacco negatively impacts women in myriad ways. A few examples include:
The tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted a series of key Decisions including FCTC/COP10(13) Implementation of Article 19 of the WHO FCTC: Liability. ASH is a proud supporter of this Decision adopted by the COP, the governing body of the Framework
The Tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted a series of key Decisions including a decision entitled “Forward-looking tobacco control measures (in relation to Article 2.1 of the WHO FCTC)” that addresses innovative policies aimed at ending the tobacco epidemic.
