Canada’s government is watching and waiting as a global fight over tobacco packaging laws plays out. Tobacco companies and business lobbyists around the world are pushing back against rules that further restrict the design of tobacco product packaging. That includes efforts to ensure the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement doesn’t include
July 8, 2015 – Senators Richard Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sherrod Brown, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, and Jeffrey A. Merkley sent a letter to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, calling on him “to reconsider and to refocus” the Chamber’s efforts “in a more positive direction.”
The CVS Health Corporation said on Tuesday that it would resign from theU.S. Chamber of Commerce after revelations that the chamber and its foreign affiliates were undertaking a global lobbying campaign against antismoking laws. CVS, which last year stopped selling tobacco products in its stores, said the lobbying activity ran
The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2015 has been released. It is available here>
On June 30, 2015, The New York Times released a tiered investigation to expose the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) affiliates as a front group for Big Tobacco. The New York Times reported that the US Chamber and its affiliates, “use their access to
For Immediate Release: July 2, 2015 Contact: Meghan Dubyak / Rachel Petri 202-224-1175 BROWN, BLUMENTHAL AND DEMOCRATIC SENATE COLLEAGUES ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT ON U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S GLOBAL LOBBYING FOR BIG TOBACCO WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR),
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Megan Arendt Office: 202-659-4310 Email: arendtm@ash.org Obama Can Help End Tobacco Epidemic, Says ASH Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) Calls on President Obama to Choose Health Over Profits WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 24, 2015 – President Obama and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Froman have the
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
Many Americans view smoking, and secondhand smoke, as a problem that has mostly been solved, at least in the United States. However, only half of all Americans are protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, whether in public places or at work. Several countries around the world have achieved complete protection
In 2012, Australia implemented tough anti-tobacco regulations, requiring that all cigarettes be sold in plain, logo-free brown packages dominated by health warnings. Philip Morris Asia filed suit, claiming that this violated its intellectual-property rights and would damage its investments. The company sued Australia in domestic court and lost. But it
The tobacco industry has been hit by the heaviest declines on record amid otherwise strong economic growth for the nation, the latest figures show. Treasurer Joe Hockey may have described the national accounts figures released Tuesday as a “terrific set of numbers”, but tobacco and cigarette consumption has taken a
(Reuters) – Ukraine has suspended a case it was pursuing through the World Trade Organization aimed at overturning Australia’s strict tobacco packaging laws, a WTO panel of adjudicators said in a statement published on Wednesday. Ukraine asked the panel to suspend the proceedings on May 28 and said it will
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
Three tobacco companies have been ordered to pay $15 billion in damages after losing a historic court case. Judge Brian Riordan on Monday ruled in favour of two groups representing Quebec smokers, ordering Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald to pay for punitive and moral damages. “It’s a
BANGKOK, 28 May 2014 (NNT) – The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the tobacco draft act which prohibits sale of cigarettes to those under 20 years old and raise punishment for offenders. Deputy Prime Minister YongyutnYuthawong said the draft act increased the minimum legal age for cigarette purchase from 18 to
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
ASH releases analysis of trade threats to U.S. domestic tobacco control policies.
The UN’s post-2015 development goal process is still in full swing. Member states have spent the last week discussing ways to finance the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These discussions are all setting the stage for the Financing for Development (Ffd) conference in Addis Ababa this July, where UN member
Princeton has become the fifth New Jersey town to ban tobacco sales to customers under 21. The town’s health board unanimously adopted the ordinance. Read more>
Most people view cigarettes as a health problem, but they are a huge environmental problem as well. The entire life cycle of a cigarette has an impact on the environment – from growing the tobacco to throwing away the butt. Tobacco Farming Tobacco cultivation is responsible for a myriad of
Public health groups are urging newly minted Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to follow in her husband’s footsteps and take on Big Tobacco. The calls for Clinton to make the issue part of her campaign platform take place amid a growing push to raise the national smoking age to 21.
E-cigarettes have arrived in the life of the American teenager. Use of the devices among middle- and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to federal data released on Thursday, bringing the share of high school students who use them to 13 percent — more than smoke traditional
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
Hear this interview from Amos Hausner who is involved in the Smokefree kaupapa in Israel. He’s currently in Aotearoa and spoke with Dale Husband. Listen here>
The measure, if adopted by the full Parliament, will take effect in May 2016. The ban on smoking in cars in the presence of a minor was also adopted. Read more>
