All of ASH’s programs are based on the foundational concept that tobacco violates the right to health of all people. We take a human rights-based approach to tobacco control. Our liability program focuses on utilizing the courts and legal systems to protect the right to health from the harms of
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
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:
Social justice is both a public health and a human rights issue, and our work at ASH is designed to improve social justice around the world. The United Nations General Assembly recognizes that social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
By: Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, Managing Attorney at ASH Throughout my time at ASH, I have visited the United Nations, both in New York and in Geneva, many times. But every single time I step onto a UN campus, I’m awestruck. This is where international change is made, and I am so
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
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
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
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
September 2022 – This year, many people and organizations have focused their energy on social justice, and ASH is no exception. As you may know, this summer, ASH led 120 organizations in submitting a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The United States was up
June 2022 – ASH staff had the opportunity to participate in the United Nations Human Rights Council 50th session, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Human Rights Council is an “inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for
Most people view cigarettes as a health problem, but they are a huge environmental problem as well. The tobacco control community is increasingly recognizing the importance of this issue; this year’s theme for World No Tobacco Day is “Tobacco: Threat to our environment.” Cigarettes have a negative impact on the
February 20th is World Day of Social Justice. The UN General Assembly recognizes that “social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace
Every December 10th is Human Rights Day, and this year (2021) the theme is “Equality- Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.” For ASH, this theme is very welcome, as we strive to center our tobacco control work around these principles. This year in particular, ASH has been focused on the intersection
ASH Webinar on WHO FCTC Article 19: Using the Judicial System to Fight Tobacco November 10, 2020 Statement from Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, Managing Attorney at ASH Article 19: How it has been utilized, how it could be utilized, and problems that might arise in the process. My presentation today is
ASH Webinar on Endgame for Tobacco: The World We Want June 11, 2020 Statement from Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, Managing Attorney at ASH I wanted to give you all a quick overview of the tobacco treaty- the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
One of ASH’s programs seeks to hold tobacco corporations and executives criminally responsible for the deaths and disease caused by their products. To that end, we work with organizations around the world who are trying to convince a prosecutor to open a criminal case in their home country. Our partners in
**UPDATE 3** – Beginning on November 26, 2017 the public will begin seeing long-awaited “corrective statements” by the tobacco industry on television and in newspapers. The major U.S. tobacco companies were ordered by the court to issue these ads because those companies had “deliberately deceived” the American public about topics
As we mark World Cancer Day, let’s take a moment to envision a day in the future when cancer is no longer ever a death sentence. As our National Cancer Institute presses forward on treatment and research under its Cancer Moonshot initiative, we should also continue looking at ways to
That’s our vision at ASH, a tobacco-free world. This year marks ASH’s 50th anniversary, and we are as committed as ever to end the tobacco epidemic. With your help, we can achieve this vision. Here’s how we’ll do it: • Hold the tobacco industry, including corporate executives, accountable for the
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
Cigarettes have been commercially marketed and sold in the United States for over 100 years. The negative health effects of tobacco have been public knowledge for at least the last 50 years. The death and disease caused by tobacco has long been an epidemic that has plagued the United States
In California, RJ Reynolds is spending millions to prevent a new tax on cigarettes. But in Missouri, RJ Reynolds is spending millions to promote a new tax on cigarettes. Tobacco taxes are proven to prevent kids from smoking and to increase the number of adults who quit. Big Tobacco has
