The ÄÛ²ÝӰԺ’s Tobacco Advisory Group (TAG) advises the ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº on tobacco control-related policy and activity, with the aim of preventing death and disability from tobacco use.
The ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº produced its first report on tobacco Smoking and health in 1962, launching six decades of action on tobacco control. At that time around 70% of men and 40% of women smoked.
In 1971, the ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº established Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) as a separate body to inform and educate the public about the dangers of smoking and to campaign on issues of tobacco control. Since then, ASH has been the focus for tobacco campaigning in the UK and has brought together a wide-range of UK organisations to effectively campaign on many aspects of tobacco control.
In 1997 the ÄÛ²ÝӰԺ’s Tobacco Advisory Group (TAG) was established to re-activate its tobacco campaigning role. The TAG has produced several reports on tobacco and smoking, providing much of the evidence base for successful wider alliance campaigns. Subsequent changes to UK legislation have resulted in reductions in death and disease from tobacco, and the protection of millions of people from tobacco smoke.
Key reports include 2005’s , which provided the evidence base for the UK ban on smoking in public places. And in 2016, made the case for the use of non-tobacco nicotine products as a substitute for smoking. focused on the health and financial costs of smoking to health and the NHS. reviewed the UK’s progress in reducing smoking prevalence and was followed by the most recent report published in 2024, focusing on .
The ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº continues to be an active member of the current alliance – the . Over 60 years after the Smoking and health report, only around 12% of adults in the UK population smoke – a powerful testament to the globally recognised success of the work of the ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº and of the UK’s tobacco alliances.