Action on Smoking and Health

Action on Smoking and Health, commonly known as ASH, is the name used by a number of autonomous tobacco-control advocacy organizations in English-speaking countries. The organizations are not a single multinational corporation or a conventional commercial brand. They are charitable or nonprofit pressure groups that use research, public education, litigation, coalition building and policy advocacy to reduce tobacco use and its health, social and economic consequences. The United States organization was established in 1967 by attorney John F. Banzhaf III with support from physicians, lawyers and other prominent citizens who believed that nonsmokers needed organized representation. Its work developed in the period following the 1964 United States Surgeon General’s report, when public understanding of smoking-related disease was growing but comprehensive restrictions on tobacco promotion and use were still limited. ASH has subsequently worked before courts, legislatures, regulatory agencies and international institutions, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization. The organization’s campaigns have addressed cigarette advertising, smoke-free public places, tobacco taxation, tobacco-industry influence, second-hand smoke, youth smoking, cigarette waste, human rights and the regulation of newer nicotine products. Among the policy developments with which the United States organization associates its advocacy are the 1971 prohibition on cigarette advertising over broadcast airwaves, the 1990 federal ban on smoking on most airline flights, the expansion of smoke-free laws and a 2001 executive order restricting United States government promotion of tobacco sales and exports. ASH also helped organize the Framework Convention Alliance, a large international coalition that advocated the adoption and implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The United Kingdom organization was established in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians after the government did not act on the college’s recommendations for reducing tobacco use. It has operated as a campaigning public-health charity, raising awareness of tobacco risks and supporting legislative and regulatory measures. Its work contributed to the campaign for comprehensive smoke-free indoor-workplace rules in the United Kingdom, restrictions on tobacco vending machines and point-of-sale displays, standardized packaging, and broader tobacco-control strategies. It also provides the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health and coordinates the Smokefree Action Coalition. ASH-affiliated organizations in Scotland and Wales have developed their own programs and governance. ASH Scotland became an independent charity in 1993 after originating under the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. ASH Wales began as an autonomous branch in 1976 and became an independent charity in 2007. Their activities include cessation support, youth education, professional networks, local smoke-free policies and national tobacco-control advocacy. ASH is a policy and public-health organization rather than a seller of consumer products. Its principal offerings are campaign materials, policy analysis, public information, coalition coordination, educational programs and advocacy. The organizations generally support evidence-based cessation services and have described vaping as potentially less harmful than combustible smoking for adults who smoke, while opposing youth uptake and use by people who do not smoke.

ASH emerged from the modern tobacco-control movement that followed the United States Surgeon General’s 1964 report on smoking and health. In the United States, John F. Banzhaf III and a group of physicians, attorneys and public figures founded ASH in 1967 to represent nonsmokers and challenge the social and political power of the tobacco industry. Rather than operating as a product company, the organization pursued change through public education, legal action, legislative testimony, regulatory advocacy and alliances with health organizations. Over time, United States ASH supported restrictions on tobacco advertising and smoking in public settings, and it addressed the economic burden and preventable deaths associated with tobacco use. Its advocacy formed part of the broader movement that preceded the 1971 ban on cigarette advertising over broadcast airwaves, the 1990 federal prohibition on smoking on most airline flights and the spread of smoke-free laws across states, cities and other jurisdictions. ASH also took part in international tobacco-control work. It organized and directed the Framework Convention Alliance, a coalition of hundreds of organizations in more than 100 countries that pressed governments to adopt and implement the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first international treaty devoted specifically to tobacco. The United Kingdom organization has a separate institutional history. It was created in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians after the British government declined to introduce measures recommended by the college to reduce tobacco use. John Dunwoody, a former health minister, became its first director. The organization developed a sustained program of lobbying, communications and policy research, while maintaining close links with medical and scientific institutions. Its campaigns helped build support for comprehensive smoke-free indoor-workplace legislation. Scotland introduced such legislation in 2006, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007 and England in July 2007. After smoke-free legislation was established, UK ASH shifted attention toward the tobacco-control measures that followed. Its 2008 report Beyond Smoking Kills reviewed progress since the earlier government tobacco strategy and called for tobacco-display restrictions, the removal of tobacco vending machines and standardized packaging. The Health Act 2009 enabled vending-machine restrictions and point-of-sale display controls. ASH and the Smokefree Action Coalition then campaigned for standardized packaging, which was legislated through the Children and Families Act 2014 and became law in 2015. The organization later published Smoking Still Kills in 2015, calling for a renewed national strategy and stronger long-term financing for cessation and prevention. UK ASH also coordinates the Smokefree Action Coalition, an umbrella network of organizations working to reduce tobacco harm, and provides the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health. Its policy work covers taxation, illicit tobacco, health inequalities, youth smoking, tobacco-industry interference and harm reduction. The organization has presented vaping as less harmful than combustible smoking and potentially useful for adults who smoke, while emphasizing that vaping should not be promoted to children or nonsmokers. The affiliated organizations in Scotland and Wales have developed distinct programs. ASH Scotland became a separate charity in 1993 and has campaigned for smoke-free public places, reduced youth smoking and a tobacco-free Scotland target of 2034. ASH Wales became an independent charity in 2007 after beginning as an autonomous branch in 1976. Its activities include tobacco-control campaigns, professional networks, education and cessation support. The Filter, its youth project, was launched in 2013 to provide workshops and quit-smoking assistance to people aged 11 to 25. ASH Wales also campaigned for smoke-free children’s playgrounds and contributed to efforts resulting in the 2015 prohibition on smoking in private vehicles carrying children in England and Wales. In the 2020s, ASH organizations expanded their work into tobacco-product waste, human rights and newer nicotine products. During 2023 negotiations on a global plastics agreement, ASH and allied groups called for the elimination of plastic cigarette filters. ASH and partners also submitted country-focused reports to a United Nations women’s-rights committee concerning tobacco-related discrimination and health. The United States organization joined litigation over menthol cigarettes in 2024. Across its different national forms, ASH remains a policy-oriented public-health network whose central objective is to reduce the harm caused by tobacco.

• 2023

  Plastic-filter elimination advocated

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  ASH joined the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in advocating removal of plastic cigarette filters during international plastics negotiations.

• 2021

  UK ASH marks its fiftieth anniversary

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  The organization commemorated five decades of tobacco-control advocacy at an event held at the Royal College of Physicians.

• 2015

  Smoking Still Kills published

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  UK ASH called for a new tobacco-control strategy, stronger cessation support and funding mechanisms involving tobacco companies.

• 2014

  Standardized-packaging legislation enacted

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  The Children and Families Act provided the legislative basis for standardized tobacco packaging in the United Kingdom.

• 2013

  The Filter launched in Wales

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  ASH Wales began a youth-focused prevention and cessation project for people aged 11 to 25.

• 2008

  Beyond Smoking Kills published

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  UK ASH reviewed tobacco-control progress and advocated display bans, vending-machine restrictions and standardized packaging.

• 2007

  England adopts comprehensive indoor smoke-free rules

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  Smoke-free rules covering enclosed workplaces and hospitality venues took effect in England on 1 July, following similar measures elsewhere in the UK.

• 2006

  Comprehensive smoke-free legislation begins in Scotland

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  Scotland became the first part of the United Kingdom to implement comprehensive smoke-free public-place legislation.

• 1990

  Federal airline smoking restrictions supported

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  ASH identifies the United States congressional ban on smoking on airline flights as a major tobacco-control achievement.

• 1971

  United Kingdom ASH founded

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  The Royal College of Physicians established the British organization after the government did not act on recommendations to reduce tobacco use.

• 1967

  United States ASH established

  [1]Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org

  John F. Banzhaf III and allied physicians, attorneys and public figures formed ASH to advocate for nonsmokers and stronger tobacco controls.

A nonprofit, evidence-led public-health advocate focused on reducing tobacco-related harm through law, regulation, education, litigation and coordinated civil-society action.

• Public-health advocacy

  Policy research and briefings

  ASH produces and circulates analysis, reports and briefing materials on tobacco taxation, illicit trade, health inequalities, youth smoking, tobacco-industry influence, smoke-free environments and harm reduction. These materials are intended for policymakers, professionals, journalists, partner organizations and the wider public rather than for commercial sale.

• Youth cessation and prevention · 2013

  The Filter

  The Filter is an ASH Wales youth project offering smoking-prevention workshops and cessation support for people aged 11 to 25. It combines education with practical assistance for young people who want to stop smoking and has also participated in international partnership work.

• Advocacy network

  Smokefree Action Coalition

  The Smokefree Action Coalition is a UK umbrella network coordinated by ASH. It brings together charities, professional bodies and other organizations seeking to reduce tobacco-related harm and influence national policy, including comprehensive smoke-free legislation and tobacco-control strategies.

• 2023Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance

  International

  ASH joined allied organizations in calling for the elimination of plastic cigarette filters during negotiations on a global plastics agreement.

  Source
• 2014Standardized tobacco packaging

  United Kingdom

  ASH and the Smokefree Action Coalition advocated removing branded visual design from tobacco packs as part of a broader effort to reduce tobacco marketing and youth appeal.

  Outcome. The policy was included in the Children and Families Act 2014 and implemented through later regulations.

  Source
• 2013The Filter

  Wales

  ASH Wales launched a youth program combining smoking prevention, workshops and cessation support for people aged 11 to 25.

  Outcome. The program expanded its workshops and cessation activities across Wales.

  Source
• 2008Beyond Smoking Kills

  United Kingdom

  UK ASH used its report to press for tobacco-display restrictions, vending-machine controls, standardized packaging and a continuing national tobacco-control strategy.

  Outcome. Several recommendations were subsequently reflected in legislation and government commitments.

  Source
• 2006Comprehensive smoke-free indoor workplaces

  United Kingdom

  ASH and allied organizations campaigned for comprehensive restrictions on smoking in enclosed workplaces and hospitality venues. England implemented the rules in 2007, following Scotland in 2006 and Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007.

  Outcome. Comprehensive indoor smoke-free legislation was implemented across the United Kingdom.

  Source

• 2024

  Litigation seeking a menthol-cigarette banOther

  Background

  ASH and other nonprofit organizations argued that the United States government should prohibit menthol cigarettes.

  Action taken

  ASH joined a federal lawsuit in California seeking judicial enforcement of a menthol ban.

  Source

• 2015

  Call for a renewed national tobacco-control strategyStrategy

  Background

  UK ASH argued that the government needed a new long-term plan after the earlier tobacco strategy and major smoke-free reforms.

  Action taken

  It published Smoking Still Kills, setting out recommendations including stronger cessation measures and a proposed tobacco-industry levy.

  Aftermath

  The public-health minister committed to preparing a new tobacco-control strategy at the report’s launch.

  Source

1. 1Action on Smoking and Healthen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Action on Smoking and Health official websiteash.org