ASH also released a new analysis, which found that since its inception 8 million people in the UK lost their lives to smoking. An estimated 2 million more are expected to die in the next 20 years, without radical changes to smoking rates.
In response to this news, ASH has begun to commemorate the 8 million whose lives were taken by tobacco in the past 50 years.
Watch below to see leading figures in UK and international tobacco control reflect on ASH’s efforts to end the smoking epidemic over the last 50 years.
How has life changed since 1971?
For further information on the origins and work of ASH, read our 50th anniversary report, written in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians.
ASH 50th anniversary event at the Royal College of Physicians
On 2 December 2021, ASH commemorated its 50th anniversary at an event hosted by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). The event featured key figures in UK tobacco control discussing how to achieve the Smokefree 2030 ambition set by the Government.
Speakers
0:00 – 09:55 Dr Andrew Goddard, President of the RCP – Welcome and introduction
09:55 – 23:00 Lord Young of Cookham who has seen ASH go from strength to strength during his 47 years in parliament, as a health minister and leading parliamentarian in both houses.
23:00 – 40:05 Professor Sir Richard Peto sets out progress on reducing smoking-related death and disease over 50 years and future projections.
40:05 – 59:55 Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, discusses the challenge we still face if we are to deliver the Government’s ambition of a Smokefree 2030.
Further information: