Media Contact:Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513  Tobacco Industry Expands Lobbying Efforts in the U.S. in 2024 New Compiled Data Released in ASH’s U.S. Tobacco Industry Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 2, 2024 – Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) released the 3rd edition of the U.S. Tobacco Industry Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker for the current cycle. The ASH Lobbyist Tracker is the first source to compile and standardize tobacco industry lobbying in the United States. The tracker compiles public records from the varying registration and ..read more

Media Contact:Megan Manning (202) 390 – 9513 UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations Move Forward with Strong Support for Banning Cigarette Filters WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 30, 2024 – The Fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding treaty on ending plastic pollution, adjourned April 29, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada after a week of slow but meaningful progress. ASH and its Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) allies were pleased with the support of government delegations for a ban on cigarette filters, the largest source of global plastic pollution. Neg ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 23 – 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 28, 2024 – INC4 returned to full plenary for the first time in several days in order to discuss the possibility of intercessional work. Given the state of the draft text, it seems impossible to finish at INC5 in t ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 23 – 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 27, 2024 – It is the fifth day of negotiations and fatigue is becoming evident as sessions go to 11:00pm and later, and the weekend brings no respite. Working groups are deep in text negotiations. And both contact ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 23 – 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 26, 2024 – The third and fourth days of negotiations were spent discussing the minutiae of critical sections of the treaty. The highlight of the day came when Peru called for cigarette filters to be banned. Panama ..read more

Biden Administration Bows to Tobacco Industry with New Delay on Menthol Cigarette Ban After a 15-year delay, Co-Plaintiffs who sued FDA for inaction call for immediate protection from addictive and deadly mentholated tobacco products  WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 26, 2024 – Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced yet another delay on the long-awaited FDA rule to ban mentholated tobacco products. The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the National Medical Association (NMA), and the American Medical Associa ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 23 – 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 24, 2024 – Today the INC broke into groups to begin the arduous task of editing the zero draft. Even on the second day, the need for quick progress was recognized, and negotiations continued throughout the evening ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 23 – 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 23, 2024 – Today was the opening of INC-4 and began with the opening plenary. The Chair – Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador – asked that delegations not make typical opening statements in order to save time. All th ..read more

ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the third Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-4) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada from April 22- 29, 2024. ASH’s Chief Operating Officer Liz Furgurson and Policy Director Chris Bostic will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed. April 22, 2024 – The fourth round of negotiations for the UN Treaty to End Plastic Pollution formally begins tomorrow, April 23rd, here in Ottawa. There has already been enough preliminary activity and speeches to warrant ..read more

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 current campaigns. The world is drowning in plastic. Microplastics are turning up in animals, salt, and our own bodies. Doing something about plastic is a matter vital to human health – our current trajectory is unsustainable. But it’s unlikely we can get rid of plastic completely. There are some uses for ..read more