ASH Scotland is the leading charity campaigning for effective tobacco control legislation in Scotland. For over 30 years, ASH Scotland has played a key role in raising awareness about tobacco use and its harmful effects and has contributed to the implementation of effective public health policies to help smokers to quit and to protect children from tobacco. Our main activities centre on an expert information service, parliamentary lobbying, campaigning, action-based projects and taking forward our partnerships and alliances, including the Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance.
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Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) was set up in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians London following the publication of two major reports: Smoking and Health (1962) which warned the general public about the harmful effects of smoking for the first time and Smoking & Health Now (1971). ASH Scotland was set up in 1973 under the auspices of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. It became a separate national organisation in 1993.
ASH Scotland campaigns for the implementation of effective tobacco prevention and cessation strategies, to raise awareness of tobacco as an addictive substance and to regulate the activities and products of the tobacco industry. Our current priorities include prevention work, a licensing scheme for tobacco retail, reducing tobacco related social and health inequalities and effective support services to help smokers in Scotland to quit.
ASH Scotland believes that the most effective way to take forward the tobacco control agenda in Scotland is to work in partnership with other public health agencies, voluntary organisations and statutory bodies. ASH Scotland was instrumental in setting up the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco (SCOT) which successfully campaigned for legislation to restrict smoking in public places.
ASH Scotland is committed to ensuring all aspects of our work and services are carried out to the highest possible standards and we regularly evaluate and monitors our work and services to ensure that this is the case. ASH Scotland accepts that there may be occasions when these standards are not achieved and individuals/organisations may wish to raise their dissatisfaction with the organisation. We invite you to contact us so that if possible we can resolve matters informally. You may also wish to review our formal procedure.
Download ASH Scotland's external complaints procedure.