News & Events

How to Sidestep Addiction and Save a Billion Lives | Tamu Green Ph.D. | TEDxFolsom

March 29, 2023

Guest Blog: A Doctor and Tobacco Industry Whistleblower’s Take on Tobacco Endgame

March 22, 2023

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

Fighting for your Right to Health | CERD Day 2023

March 20, 2023

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

33 Countries Support Human Rights Based Approach to UN Plastic Pollution Treaty

March 17, 2023

March 17, 2023 | Geneva, Switzerland Andres del Castillo of Peru addresses the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Vanuatu, Brazil, Portugal, Luxemburg, Malta, Armenia, Chile, Mexico, Georgia, Finland, Germany, Ukraine, Croatia, Cyprus, Maldives, Slovenia, Uruguay, Ireland, Panamá, Colombia, Belgium, Angola, Paraguay, Switzerland, France, Marshall

International Women’s Day 2023 | Tobacco’s Impact on Women

March 6, 2023

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,

Update on ASH Executive Director and 2023 Progress

March 1, 2023

As of February 13, 2023, ASH Executive Director Laurent Huber, in consultation with the ASH Board of Trustees, began a medical leave of absence through November 2023. The ASH Board of Trustees appointed Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson to serve as ASH’s Acting Executive Director during the period to ensure

Tobacco Impedes Social Justice

February 17, 2023

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

CDC Reports: More Than Half of All Americans Support Ending the Sale of Tobacco Products

February 2, 2023

CDC Reports: More Than Half of All Americans Support Ending the Sale of Tobacco Products Research Brief Released in Preventing Chronic Disease Media Contact: Megan Arendt-Manning (202) 390 – 9513 WASHINGTON, DC – February 2, 2023 – A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking

Governments are getting serious about cancer. They’re starting with tobacco.

February 1, 2023

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

Plastic Pollution INC Stakeholders Meeting | ASH Statement

January 31, 2023

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

Dr. Carolyn Dresler, 2022 C. Everett Koop Unsung Hero Award Recipient, Joins Action on Smoking and Health Board of Trustees

January 24, 2023

Media Contact: Megan Arendt-Manning (202) 659 – 4310 Dr. Carolyn Dresler, 2022 C. Everett Koop Unsung Hero Award Recipient, Joins Action on Smoking and Health Board of Trustees Lung Health and Human Rights Expertise will Accelerate Tobacco Endgame WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 24, 2023 – Action on Smoking and Health

End of 2022 Message from ASH Executive Director Laurent Huber

December 21, 2022

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

ASH’s Accomplishments in 2022

December 17, 2022

ASH’s work is based on the principle that the behavior of the tobacco industry – producing, marketing, and selling addictive products that kill when use as intended – violates human rights, such as the right to health and right to a healthy environment, that have been recognized at the international, regional,

A Global First: New Zealand Passes Tobacco Endgame Bill Package

December 13, 2022

A Global First: New Zealand Passes Tobacco Endgame Bill Package Changing the Course of the Tobacco Epidemic for the World Media Contact: Megan Manning (202) 390-9513 WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13, 2022 – Today, the New Zealand Parliament adopted the strongest anti-tobacco law in world history. Once implemented, the Smokefree

Christopher K. Leung Receives Project Sunset Award for Courage in Public Health

December 12, 2022

NEW YORK CITY, NY – DECEMBER 8, 2022 – Action on Smoking and Health awarded the Project Sunset Award for Courage in Public Health to Christopher K. Leung, the lead attorney in the landmark case forcing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the rulemaking process to ban menthol

Synopsis and Prospects: UN Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations

December 5, 2022

December 5, 2022 – The first of five Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings for the UN Plastics Pollution treaty is finished. The plan is to approve a final text roughly two years from now, which will be handed over to the UN Environmental Assembly for adoption. Then it will be opened

Day 4: UN Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations

December 1, 2022

December 1, 2022 – Today, ASH was able to make a second intervention during the plenary discussions on the role of nongovernmental stakeholders in negotiations going forward. Many thanks to our allies in the environmental coalition for their vital input. Here is our intervention, to give you a taste of

Day 3: UN Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations

December 1, 2022

November 30, 2022 – Today, several delegations mentioned the need to ensure basic human rights as we hammer out a treaty to end plastics pollution. This got me to thinking. It should be all about human rights. In the discussions leading up to INC-1, as I’ve mentioned previously, “inclusiveness” has

Day 2: UN Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations

November 29, 2022

November 29, 2022 – The highlight of today was a three-hour Multi-Stakeholder Forum. If that title sets off your radar, your radar is well-calibrated. The industries that have caused the plastic pollution problem were given the same platform and respect as civil society groups struggling to stop them. Some were

Day 1: UN Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations

November 28, 2022

November 28, 2022 – Greetings from Punta del Este. Today is an historic day in the history of environmental protection. At 10:00am local time, the first round of negotiations for the global plastics pollution treaty got under way. Whether it was a good day or a bad is to be

UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution

November 15, 2022

ASH is proud to be a founding and organizing member for the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA), a global coalition of 100 public health organizations who recognize the crucial intersection of tobacco control and environmental health. STPA will actively participate in the UN plastics treaty negotiations from November 2022 through

ASH Welcomes Protection from Flavored Tobacco Products in California

November 9, 2022

Media Contact: Megan Arendt-Manning manningm@ash.org (202) 659 – 4310 ASH Welcomes Protection from Flavored Tobacco Products in California WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 9, 2022 – Yesterday, Californians voted in favor of protecting our children from flavored tobacco products. After two years of delayed implementation because of tobacco industry interference, California

Professor Stephen P. Marks, Harvard Professor Emeritus, Joins Action on Smoking and Health Board of Trustees

November 3, 2022

Media Contact: Megan Arendt-Manning (202) 659 – 4310 Professor Stephen P. Marks, Harvard Professor Emeritus, Joins Action on Smoking and Health Board of Trustees Esteemed Leadership and Wisdom will help Address Tobacco as a Human Rights Concern WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 3, 2022 – Action on Smoking and Health (ASH US)

The Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA)

November 1, 2022

The Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) is a global coalition of 100 public health organizations, listed below, who recognize the crucial intersection of tobacco control and environmental health. STPA will actively participate in the UN plastics treaty negotiations from November 2022 through 2024 and remain active to ensure strong implementation of

2021 Annual Report

October 31, 2022

In 2021, despite operating under the global COVID-19 pandemic, ASH implemented numerous programs to accomplish its Mission, “to advocate for innovative legal and policy measures to end the global tobacco epidemic.” Click here to read ASH’s 2021 Annual Report> ASH’s programs advanced health policy at the local, national, and global

News & Events

Update on ASH Executive Director and 2023 Progress

Plastic Pollution INC Stakeholders Meeting | ASH Statement

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