While smoking rates in the U.S. are lower than they have been in almost a century, the tobacco industry is richer than ever. Why? They have moved on to the developing world, marketing to new generations of "customers" and dooming millions to addiction, disease and death.
1 Billion
That is the number of deaths from tobacco use we can look forward to in the 21st century unless drastic action is taken, according to the World Health Organization. This is ten times the number killed in the 20th century. 650 million of those 1 billion haven’t even been born yet.
The tobacco industry should be weakened after decades of public education and lawsuits in the U.S. and other developed countries. But profits are pouring in from sales to the world’s poor, and the tobacco industry continues to be able to donate to political campaigns, file lawsuits against the government, and run slick advertising campaigns in the U.S.
For over a decade, ASH has been taking the fight global. Much of our international work is conducted through a unique confederation of civil society organizations, the Framework Convention Alliance. The FCA includes over 400 organizations from 100+ countries, and helped push for the negotiation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first public health treaty. ASH was a founding member of the FCA in 1999, and today serves as its secretariat, helping to organize and focus the Alliance’s efforts.
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
In 2003, the world responded to the growing tobacco epidemic by adopting the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first public health treaty. The FCTC is a comprehensive roadmap to tobacco regulation. To date, 173 countries have ratified the treaty, making it one of the most widely-adopted international agreements in history.
Of course a treaty, like a law, is just a piece of paper unless it is implemented and enforced. ASH and the FCA pressure governments to fully implement the FCTC, and ensure compliance with regulations. Through shadow reporting, we shine a bright light on governments’ efforts in fighting tobacco use. Governments don’t like to be embarrassed. Public scrutiny is a powerful weapon.
Tobacco As a Development Issue
One of the reasons tobacco control hasn’t advanced as far as it might is a lack of dedicated resources, especially in poorer countries. ASH has been working with FCA and the NCD Alliance (NCD stands for "non-communicable diseases") to get tobacco on the global development agenda. A big step in the right direction took place in September 2011 at the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs. The UN General Assembly recognized tobacco as the leading risk factor in NCDs, and called for accelerated implementation of the FCTC as a major factor in improving global health and development.
The UN General Assembly recognized tobacco as the leading risk factor in NCDs, and called for accelerated implementation of the FCTC as a major factor in improving global health and development.
Action on Smoking and Health
(ASH)
701 4th St. NW / Washington, DC
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in 1967.
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