How US Healthcare Professionals Can Strengthen Tobacco Cessation Interventions Tobacco kills over 22,000 people every day globally, and over 480,000 people annually in the United States alone,1,2 more than the combined deaths caused by AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides.2 Out of all the American children who
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
As a surgeon for 21 years, I’ve seen the extensive, heartbreaking toll tobacco products take on the human body. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the world, claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 Americans each year. Smoking is directly linked to over 13 different human
Our goal at ASH is to protect everyone from the harms of tobacco. One way we strive to achieve that goal is by reducing health inequities and fighting for everyone’s right to health. In honor of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), here are some of the
Today, 200 million of the world’s one billion people who smoke are women[1] and 2.15 million women die from tobacco use every year.[2] Over 71% of those women live in low- and middle-income countries[3], where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.[4] While overall, smoking rates are decreasing,
Public health, and more specifically tobacco control, sits at the vortex of many important social issues such as development, human rights, law, and social justice. Tobacco companies have been aggressively targeting African Americans for generations with menthol cigarettes. As a result, over 85% of African Americans who smoke, smoke menthol
February 4th is World Cancer Day. Cancer is the second largest cause of death worldwide, and smoking is the leading cause, directly responsible for 30% of cancer deaths. Cancer takes the lives of about ten million people annually (600,000+ in the U.S.) and costs the global economy about 1.5% of
Oral statement | Action on Smoking and Health | January 31, 2023 Proposed Objective: To protect future generations from the environmental, health and other burdens of plastic pollution. The objective should be simple and avoid qualifiers such as “in accordance with domestic or international law” or “without undue encumbrance on
The year 2022 has seen incredible milestones when it comes to taking measures to protect our collective right to health and right to a healthy environment from the harms caused by the tobacco industry. When we talk about “human rights,” we talk about the rights that have been recognized at
