Endgame Training Course

environment

ASH Priorities at COP10

Media Contact: Megan Manning manningm@ash.org Introduction In 2005, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force, becoming a legally binding treaty that has now been joined by more than 180 countries. Parties to the FCTC meet every two years (officially called the Conference of the Parties or

End of 2023 Message from ASH Executive Director Laurent Huber

This has been another fast-paced year in ASH’s fight to protect society from the harm caused by the tobacco industry. A year where we have seen much progress, reached new milestones, and marked major anniversaries though, unfortunately, also a year where we faced painful setbacks as the tobacco industry does

UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution

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

The Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA)

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

Environmental Disaster: Tobacco farming, production, use and disposal

Author: Maia Murphey, ASH Program and Communications Intern  From manufacture to consumption, tobacco products are not only a dangerous public health concern, but also an environmental concern. In addition to over 8 million human lives lost every year to the tobacco industry, we also lose 600 million trees, 200,000 hectares

WHO, WHO FCTC & UNEP Webinar

Fighting tobacco product waste: Holding tobacco industry accountable for its environmental footprint June 2, 2022 – Tobacco control experts, including ASH’s Executive Director Laurent Huber, and environmental advocates from around the world join our roundtable discussion, hosted by the World Health Organization, the WHO FCTC Secretariat, and the UN Environment

Report: Tobacco and the Environment

Media Contact: Nichelle Gray (202) 659 – 4310 Our Environment Must be Protected from Tobacco Product Waste New Report from 3 Organizations Highlights European Union, French, and American Progress WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 25, 2022 – Tobacco Product Waste is a completely preventable and controllable environmental disaster. With natural resources

Protect Our Environment

Donate Our Environment Must be Protected from Tobacco Product Waste New Report from 3 Organizations Highlights European Union, French, and American Progress WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 25, 2022 – Tobacco Product Waste is a completely preventable and controllable environmental disaster. With natural resources being depleted and climate change accelerating, governments

Happy Earth Day!

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

Tobacco and the Environment

Cigarettes are most commonly categorized 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 and beyond. Tobacco growth and cultivation causes deforestation. Trees

Parallel issues

There are numerous other issues that provide legal or political precedent that can be applied to tobacco and human rights. Environment Environmental Issues that are Indirectly Relevant to Tobacco Climate Litigation against Companies: An Overview of Legal Arguments 2018- The Business and Human Rights Resource Center tracked 14 climate lawsuits

Academic articles

This is a non-exhaustive list of scholarly writings on the subjects of tobacco control and human rights. General Human Rights Articles What is a Human-Rights Based Approach to Health and does it Matter? 2008- Leslie London A human rights approach to health is critical to address growing global health inequalities.

Regional Mechanisms

In addition to global mechanisms and international human rights treaty bodies, there are several regional bodies. They are responsible for the human rights in their respective regions, and therefore, can be very useful for advocates living and working in those regions. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) The Inter-American Commission

The Human Rights Council and Universal Periodic Review

The Human Rights Council (HRC) is a United Nations (UN) body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. While there have been a limited number of resolutions that are directly relevant to tobacco control, there are many others that could support a human rights based

Environmental Harms of Tobacco

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. If tobacco vanished tomorrow, there would be many positive impacts on

For an Earth Free of Tobacco Waste

By Yogi Hale Hendlin, PhD, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF We all know tobacco kills. But few stop to consider how tobacco also kills the planet.  Especially as it serves no social or nutritional purpose, we should think twice about the environmental impacts of the farming, manufacturing,

Hold the Tobacco Industry Responsible for Harming our Global Environment

By Clif Curtis For decades now, with cigarette sales having increased to more than six trillion in 2016, tobacco producers have refused to accept any significant responsibility for the serious, global environmental damage resulting from the production, use and disposal of tobacco products. It’s time for new regulations that hold

Action Review: 4th Quarter 2016

Statement from ASH on E-Cigarettes Following the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report   U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a new report on December 8, 2016, presenting research and policy recommendations on electronic cigarettes and their use among adolescents and young adults. “The report illustrates that while electronic cigarettes are less

Human Rights Day 2016

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

What if Tobacco Vanished?

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

ASH Environmental Webinar Recap

When we think of tobacco, a lot of health issues immediately spring to mind – lung cancer, throat cancer, cardiovascular disease, tooth decay, asthma. But tobacco products also wreak havoc on our environment, a problem that is often overlooked. Tobacco is harmful to the environment throughout the product cycle –

Earth Day 2016

The harmful impacts of smoking go well beyond each individual smoker. Cigarettes have a negative impact on the environment throughout their entire life cycle – from growing the tobacco to disposing of the butts. ASH blogs have highlighted several of the environmental harms of tobacco, including cigarette butt pollution. In