In the past two and half years, ASH has been working to ensure that tobacco control is included in the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals are being created to set countries’ development agendas for the next 15 years. In the expiring UN Millennium Development Goals, tobacco control
The Public Health Advocacy Institute (“PHAI”) announced today that its newly formed Center for Public Health Litigation has filed lawsuits against two major tobacco companies and several local distributors on behalf of the families of two former smokers who suffered devastating disease from smoking cigarettes. “This is the first time
WASHINGTON — An ambitious 12-nation trade accord pushed by President Obama would allow foreign corporations to sue the United States government for actions that undermine their investment “expectations” and hurt their business, according to a classified document. Read more>
ASH Resources Blog: If Drug Dealers Can Be Found Criminally Liable, Can Big Tobacco? Description: Drug dealers can and have been charged with murder or manslaughter when death results from the drugs they sold. This same logic could apply to Big Tobacco. Quote: The inevitable question is then- Do you
Tobacco products kill more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Left unchecked, tobacco use will kill 1 billion people this century. As one state Supreme Court recently noted, cigarettes likely constitute “the most dangerous product lawfully sold” to consumers. The lethal consequences of smoking
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Megan Arendt Office: 202-659-4310 Email: arendtm@ash.org PLAIN PACKAGING FOR TOBACCO WILL BECOME THE GLOBAL NORM But will the U.S. be last? WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 12, 2015 – Yesterday, Britain’s House of Commons overwhelmingly approved a law requiring plain packaging for tobacco products, just one day
MPs have voted in favour of introducing standardised packaging for cigarettes in the UK. It means from 2016 every packet will look the same except for the make and brand name, with graphic photos accompanying health warnings if the House of Lords also approves the move. The Irish Republic passed
John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight continued his original episode on the tobacco industry with this response. Watch here>
WASHINGTON – A temporary order by a Superior Court judge is keeping a man from smoking inside his home in the District of Columbia. WJLA-TV (https://bit.ly/1BrlPLl ) reports that Edwin Gray’s next door neighbors in northeast Washington have filed a civil suit claiming they’re being harmed by smoke that sneaks
The absence of smoking on commercial airliners is something we all now take for granted. But it wasn’t always that way. The ban on smoking was the culmination of years of effort by many individuals and public health organizations fighting an industry that had held sway in the US Congress
One of the world’s largest tobacco firms has told the Government to immediately halt plain packaging legislation in the Dáil or face a High Court claim for damages. JTI Ireland, owner of the Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut brands, has told Ministers James Reilly and Leo Varadkar that it
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver exposed Big Tobacco’s international bullying tactics to target new and existing customers with their deadly products. ASH supported their researchers in putting together this episode. Join the conversation online using #JeffWeCan Watch the episode below. Read ASH’s Response here> Watch how ASH responded below.
Drivers in England will be banned from smoking in their cars if they are carrying children as passengers. The move, which will become law on 1 October, follows a similar ban in Wales and aims to protect young people under 18 from second-hand smoke. Scotland is also considering introducing a
In the past few years, several localities have increased the minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21. The first to increase the minimum sales age to 21 was Needham, MA, a suburb of Boston, in 2005. Following implementation of the law, smoking rates among Needham high-school students dropped almost
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California health officials Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in seeking tighter controls as “vaping” grows in popularity. The California Department of Public Health released a report saying
“Health must become a priority. The time is now,” said global tobacco control advocates in the Framework Convention Alliance video. They emphasize the importance of this year, 2015, and that leaders must raise their ambitions for humanity. They also encourage the general public to stand up and speak out. The
One of the strongest arguments in favor of raising the legal age for tobacco purchases inadvertently comes from the tobacco industry itself. In 1986, in a confidential memo, an executive for Philip Morris wrote, “Raising the legal minimum age for cigarette purchase to 21 could gut our key young-adult market
Only about half of Americans are protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, whether in public places or at work. Yet, a growing number of foreign countries have achieved complete protection, often in the face of strong tobacco industry opposition. While every society is different, some of the strategies used offer
Big Tobacco wants to reclaim the hearts and wallets of most adult Americans by rebranding its tarred image — pitching “smokeless” e-cigarettes, embracing the mantra “harm reduction,” and funding science that could turn tobacco plants into life-saving medicine. That tactical shift, not surprisingly, has cultivated cynics like anti-tobacco crusader Patrick
Doctors in the U.K. will vote on Tuesday as to whether to support a “campaign to ban forever the sale of cigarettes to any individual born after the year 2000.” It’s an appealing thought exercise for public health types: Smoking rates declined steadily in the late 20th century as the
Over the last five decades, the tobacco industry has engineered cigarettes to be more addictive — and has also made them more dangerous. Smokers suffer from higher risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) todaycompared to 1964, when the very first Surgeon General’s report on cigarettes was
MANILA, Philippines – The graphic health warning bill is now one step closer to becoming a law. The bicameral conference committee on Tuesday, June 10, reconciled the Senate and House of Representatives versions of the bill, which seeks to place graphic health warnings on cigarette packs. Click here to
