Media Contact:
Megan Manning
manningm@ash.org
Statement from Laurent Huber on United Nations Political Declaration on NCDs at HLM4
December 16, 2025
Action on Smoking and Health welcomes the Political Declaration from the Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing (HLM4). The Declaration, adopted December 15, 2025, comes after several rounds of negotiations between the 193 UN member states.
The Political Declaration includes several references to tobacco, including:
Recognize also that the main modifiable risk factors of noncommunicable diseases are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and air pollution and are largely preventable and require cross-sectoral actions;
We therefore commit to urgently:
Fast-track efforts to accelerate progress on noncommunicable diseases and mental health and well-being over the next five years, focusing on tobacco and nicotine control, preventing and scaling up effective treatment of cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, and improving mental health care, with the aim to reduce by one third premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases and achieve the following global targets by 2030: 150 million fewer people are using tobacco, 150 million more people have hypertension under control, and 150 million more people have access to mental health care;
The Declaration goes on to encourage countries to consider introducing or increasing tobacco taxes, implementing health warnings, restricting advertising, reducing second hand smoke exposure, and promoting evidence based quit programs. The Declaration also calls for accelerated, “implementation among Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, without any tobacco industry interference.”
While we are pleased to see the specific tobacco related goals, they are not enough. Only 19 of the 193 UN member states are on track to achieve the earlier goal of reducing NCD mortality by one-third by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal 3.4). Earlier drafts of the Declaration included more aggressive measures, including calling for graphic health warnings on cigarette packs.
We encourage countries to go beyond the Political Declaration. We encourage Parties to, at a minimum, fully implement the lifesaving, evidence-based tobacco control measures set out in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Countries that are truly committed to the goals of the Political Declaration should consider banning the sale of commercial tobacco. As the Political Declaration states, the risk factor of tobacco use is largely preventable. By eliminating tobacco sales, the world can significantly reduce NCDs and save one billion lives.
