GB 0120 SA/ASH - Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0120 SA/ASH

Title

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

Date(s)

  • c 1971-1988 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

87 boxes and 15 transfer boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

ASH serves to educate the public about the dangers of smoking, to support cessation campaigns - including an annual No Smoking Day - and to campaign for legislation limiting the marketing of tobacco products. Since its foundation in 1971, it has been active in publicising the dangers of passive smoking, worked to discourage smoking by children and campaigned against tobacco marketing in the developing countries.

Archival history

GB 0120 SA/ASH c 1971-1988 Collection (fonds) 87 boxes and 15 transfer boxes Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

ASH serves to educate the public about the dangers of smoking, to support cessation campaigns - including an annual No Smoking Day - and to campaign for legislation limiting the marketing of tobacco products. Since its foundation in 1971, it has been active in publicising the dangers of passive smoking, worked to discourage smoking by children and campaigned against tobacco marketing in the developing countries.

Action on Smoking and Health deposited its archive with the Wellcome Library in 1991, with further accessions of material in 1994 and 1996.

Papers of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). The genesis of ASH is illustrated in Fletcher's papers (section Q), arising out of his work on the Royal College of Physicians smoking reports. There is a full run of Committee minutes from 1971 onwards (section B). The bulk of the files are those of the Director, associated with all aspects of ASH's campaigning and administrative work. These overlap to some extent with the files of the Project Officer (section P), which are concerned with various specific campaigns, especially about smoking in the workplace and in public places. Published papers, leaflets, posters and booklets are to be found in files throughout the archive, but section T consists of publications which were filed together, apparently transferred from the ASH library.

During the course of cataloguing, duplicate items, and those of judged to be of little historical value were weeded from the collection, and some published material transferred to the Modern Medicine Department of the WIHM Library. Weeded files included a large quantity of letters from the public with general queries about smoking, as many such letters are to be found in specific issue files. Letters from the public to the Project Officer about workplace smoking were selectively weeded.

The material when transferred had no clearly discernible original order. This was partly due to the flat structure of ASH - with most of the work, and hence paperwork, generated through the Director. However, some separate groups of papers were identified: the largest being those generated by the Project Officer, a post created in about 1984. In addition, there are also files of Charles Fletcher, relating to his work with the RCP, and to the genesis of ASH, of which he was the first President; and files created by the journalist William Norman, during research in 1977 for his book on the politics of the tobacco industry.

Arranged in sections as follows:
The collection is divided into sections as follows:

A NATIONAL COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH WORKING PARTY, 1970

B COUNCIL/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE/AGM including Minutes [Executive Committee, Council, AGM], 1971-1989; Attendance registers, 1971-1974;

Director's reports, 1980-1988; Annual accounts, 1971-1986; Articles of Association and annual returns to Charity Commissioners, 1970-1980; Organising and Fund-raising Committee, Propaganda Sub-Committee minutes, 1971-1976; Development Committee minutes, 1971-1973 and Officers' meetings minutes, 1978-1984.

C COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS" CORRESPONDENCE, 1970-1990

D ASH RESEARCH COMMITTEE, 1979-1985

E BRANCHES: Norfolk ASH, 1980-1988; Northern ASH, 1978-1989; Northern Ireland ASH, 1975-1989; North West ASH, 1977-1983; Scottish ASH, 1978-1989; Solent ASH, 1976-1979; Branches annual conference and reports, 1981-1989.

F HEALTH EDUCATION COUNCIL, 1976-1990

G DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY, 1973-1987

H PARLIAMENT: British Parliament and MPs, 1971-1990; European Parliament and MEPs, 1977-1990.

J OTHER ORGANISATIONS, 1970-1991

K MEDIA, ADVERTISING AND SPORTS SPONSORSHIP; Advertising and sports sponsorship, 1976-1986; Press releases, 1974-1983; Letters to the press, 1979-1987.

L CESSATION AND PREVENTION

M CONFERENCES: ASH conferences, 1971-1981; Other organisations' correspondence, 1978-1988

N CORRESPONDENCE WITH INDIVIDUALS, 1975-1989

P PROJECT OFFICER, 1978-1990

Q CHARLES FLETCHER, 1956-1979

R WILLIAM NORMAN, 1975-1977

S SURVEYS, 1972-1990

T PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS: ASH press releases; ASH leaflets, reports and publications; Leaflets, reports, publications of other organisations;

"Chronological listing of certain tobacco industry documents".

The majority of the material is available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking. Section T/4 is only available for consultation or publishing with permission from ASH.

Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.

English

In the Wellcome Library: other archival collections of related interest are listed in Sources Leaflet 19: "Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco", which is available in the Library and on its website. Full catalogues of these and other collections listed in the Sources Leaflets are available in the Library.

Copied from the Wellcome Library catalogue by Sarah Drewery.

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Jan 2009 Medical research Carcinogens Cancer Agricultural products Plant products Tobacco Psychiatry Psychopathology Mental diseases Substance-related disorders Diseases Health Education Council Department of Health and Social Security Royal College of Physicians Action on Smoking and Health x ASH Fletcher , Charles Montague , 1911-1995 , epidemiologist Pathology

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Action on Smoking and Health deposited its archive with the Wellcome Library in 1991, with further accessions of material in 1994 and 1996.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). The genesis of ASH is illustrated in Fletcher's papers (section Q), arising out of his work on the Royal College of Physicians smoking reports. There is a full run of Committee minutes from 1971 onwards (section B). The bulk of the files are those of the Director, associated with all aspects of ASH's campaigning and administrative work. These overlap to some extent with the files of the Project Officer (section P), which are concerned with various specific campaigns, especially about smoking in the workplace and in public places. Published papers, leaflets, posters and booklets are to be found in files throughout the archive, but section T consists of publications which were filed together, apparently transferred from the ASH library.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

During the course of cataloguing, duplicate items, and those of judged to be of little historical value were weeded from the collection, and some published material transferred to the Modern Medicine Department of the WIHM Library. Weeded files included a large quantity of letters from the public with general queries about smoking, as many such letters are to be found in specific issue files. Letters from the public to the Project Officer about workplace smoking were selectively weeded.

Accruals

System of arrangement

The material when transferred had no clearly discernible original order. This was partly due to the flat structure of ASH - with most of the work, and hence paperwork, generated through the Director. However, some separate groups of papers were identified: the largest being those generated by the Project Officer, a post created in about 1984. In addition, there are also files of Charles Fletcher, relating to his work with the RCP, and to the genesis of ASH, of which he was the first President; and files created by the journalist William Norman, during research in 1977 for his book on the politics of the tobacco industry.

Arranged in sections as follows:
The collection is divided into sections as follows:

A NATIONAL COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH WORKING PARTY, 1970

B COUNCIL/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE/AGM including Minutes [Executive Committee, Council, AGM], 1971-1989; Attendance registers, 1971-1974;

Director's reports, 1980-1988; Annual accounts, 1971-1986; Articles of Association and annual returns to Charity Commissioners, 1970-1980; Organising and Fund-raising Committee, Propaganda Sub-Committee minutes, 1971-1976; Development Committee minutes, 1971-1973 and Officers' meetings minutes, 1978-1984.

C COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS" CORRESPONDENCE, 1970-1990

D ASH RESEARCH COMMITTEE, 1979-1985

E BRANCHES: Norfolk ASH, 1980-1988; Northern ASH, 1978-1989; Northern Ireland ASH, 1975-1989; North West ASH, 1977-1983; Scottish ASH, 1978-1989; Solent ASH, 1976-1979; Branches annual conference and reports, 1981-1989.

F HEALTH EDUCATION COUNCIL, 1976-1990

G DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY, 1973-1987

H PARLIAMENT: British Parliament and MPs, 1971-1990; European Parliament and MEPs, 1977-1990.

J OTHER ORGANISATIONS, 1970-1991

K MEDIA, ADVERTISING AND SPORTS SPONSORSHIP; Advertising and sports sponsorship, 1976-1986; Press releases, 1974-1983; Letters to the press, 1979-1987.

L CESSATION AND PREVENTION

M CONFERENCES: ASH conferences, 1971-1981; Other organisations' correspondence, 1978-1988

N CORRESPONDENCE WITH INDIVIDUALS, 1975-1989

P PROJECT OFFICER, 1978-1990

Q CHARLES FLETCHER, 1956-1979

R WILLIAM NORMAN, 1975-1977

S SURVEYS, 1972-1990

T PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS: ASH press releases; ASH leaflets, reports and publications; Leaflets, reports, publications of other organisations;

"Chronological listing of certain tobacco industry documents".

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

The majority of the material is available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking. Section T/4 is only available for consultation or publishing with permission from ASH.

Conditions governing reproduction

Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

In the Wellcome Library: other archival collections of related interest are listed in Sources Leaflet 19: "Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco", which is available in the Library and on its website. Full catalogues of these and other collections listed in the Sources Leaflets are available in the Library.

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Wellcome Library

Rules and/or conventions used

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area