Is a future where no one dies because of commercial tobacco products within our reach? Yes! What once seemed like an impossible goal is now within our reach. 2025 has taken us several steps closer to this goal, and ASH is proud to have been a leader in realizing this
The Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP11) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted a series of key Decisions including FCTC/COP11(10) Implementation of Article 18 of the WHO FCTC. ASH is a proud supporter of this Decision adopted by the COP, the governing body of the Framework
Media Contact: Megan Manning manningm@ash.org (202) 390 – 9513 Nations Advance Global Health at WHO Tobacco Treaty Negotiations Decisions on Liability, Environment and Forward-Looking Measures Blaze a Path towards Endgame GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – NOVEMBER 22, 2025 – Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) led an esteemed delegation to the 11th Conference of
November 22, 2025 – The theme of COP 11 was “Uniting Generations for a Tobacco-Free Future;” a theme which turned out to be an apt indicator of the progress that was made. Article 2.1- Forward Looking Measures In advance of the COP, an Expert Group met and drafted a report
November 21, 2025 – Throughout the opening statements by the Parties at the COP Plenary on Day 1, government delegations were consistent in congratulating the President of the Convention, and then they would go through the various articles to which they claimed compliance. It was so very striking how minimal
November 20, 2025 – As predicted in the Day 3 blog, debate about the Article 2.1 Expert Group report and decision on Forward Looking Measures (also known as tobacco endgame) soaked up time until the end of the day. These measures are broadly grouped under four domains: tobacco supply, institutional structure/market,
November 19, 2025 – The third day of COP11 had mixed outcomes. Agenda items included making UN campuses nicotine and aerosol free, Article 18 on the Environment, and Article 19 on Liability as well as Article 2.1 Forward-Looking Measures (FLMs) – all ASH priorities. Article 19 on Liability was a
November 18, 2025 – Today the COP shifted in high gear and began debating substantive issues. First on the docket is Article 2.1, Forward-Looking Measures (FLMs). ASH has taken a lead on this issue for the civil society community for one important reason – the report on FLMs that the
November 17, 2025 – Greetings from Geneva and the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The COP officially began today, but of course a lot of the work is done before the first gavel falls. The day began with a civil society
Media Contact: Megan Manning manningm@ash.org Read Daily COP11 Briefs from ASH> Overview COP is where global tobacco policy is negotiated, written, and monitored and where consensus is achieved on how to tackle the tobacco industry and advance health. In 2005, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force,
The plastic in cigarette butts is the catalyst for getting rid of all cigarette filters. Dutch NGO Fair Resource Foundation launched a global campaign on May 13, 2025 to ban plastic cigarette filters. ASH is one of the many organizations that signed on in support and collaborated with the Fair
April 22 is Earth Day, the day we recognize that Earth is our only home. Like a house, if we don’t take care of it, clean up messes and fix things when they’re broken, it will become uninhabitable. Unlike a house, we can’t simply collect the insurance and go get
International Day of Zero Waste reminds us that while we should be aware of what we consume, we should be particularly cognizant of what we waste, how we can minimize it, and how to properly dispose of it. The Earth is almost entirely a closed-system, meaning that what we “throw
Earth Day, first held in 1970, is an opportunity to raise awareness of our fundamental relationship with the environment around us and the vital need to protect and sustain it. The theme for Earth Day 2024 is “Planet vs Plastics,” which is particularly relevant for one of ASH’s most important
March 30th is the International Day of Zero Waste, to draw attention to the lack of sustainability in the way the world currently works. While we may differ on solutions, there is no longer doubt that we can’t keep going like this indefinitely. We are poisoning our planet and thereby
Exciting news from Europe: the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has been approved by a qualified majority of EU governments! This is a significant step towards protecting human rights and the environment from harm from big corporations, like the tobacco industry. ASH has been monitoring and engaging in this
The tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted a series of key Decisions including a decision entitled “Implementation of Article 18 of the WHO FCTC” that addresses the “environmental concerns associated with tobacco.” ASH is a proud supporter of this Decision
On the opening day of the 10th WHO FCTC Conference of the Parties (COP10), the Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme, Inger Andersen, provided a clear description of the significant negative environmental impact of tobacco products and made an eloquent case for increased collaboration between FCTC and UN environmental
Media Contact: Megan Manning ManningM@ash.org (202) 390 – 9513 Global Progress Achieved at WHO Tobacco Treaty Negotiations in Panama Decisions Adopted to Connect Human Rights and the Environment to Tobacco Control with an Eye to Endgame WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 12, 2024 – Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) led
February 10, 2024 – COP10 was particularly special because several cross-cutting issues – human rights, the environment, and the tobacco endgame – were on the agenda. ASH and the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (then the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) led advocacy for a human rights decision at COP8
February 9, 2024 – Today is the second to last day of the 10th Conference of the Parties, and the Parties still have agenda items left to discuss, but they have also gotten through several of their important agenda items. Yesterday, the government of Ecuador proposed a Decision on the
February 8, 2024 – How the Sausage Gets Made Few of us have ever made actual sausage. But we’ll explain the process anyway, and then compare it to how things get done at FCTC COP. To make sausage, you need some casing, some meat and spices. You grind everything up, and
February 7, 2024 – Today was another packed day for the ASH delegation here in Panama. Several of ASH’s policy priorities have come up on the agenda of the COP. Unfortunately, fruitful debates on these items have been delayed because of country Parties spouting tobacco industry rhetoric. However, that has
February 6, 2024 – A typical day at the Conference of the Parties begins very early and ends very late, and today was no different. At 7:00 AM, ASH begins by meeting with our civil society allies to discuss strategy for the day. Starting at 9:00 AM, we attend meetings
February 5, 2024 – The in-person portion of the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) began today in Panama City. In a very fitting opening message, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said, “We must continue advocating for
