Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has welcomed the adoption of the Political Declaration from the Fourth High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the promotion of mental health and well-being (HLM4) on December 15, 2025. The Declaration reflects negotiations among all 193 UN member states and explicitly recognizes tobacco use as a major modifiable risk factor for NCDs.

The Declaration commits to urgent action over the next five years to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third and sets specific targets, including: 150 million fewer tobacco users, 150 million more people with controlled hypertension, and 150 million more people with access to mental health care by 2030. It also encourages countries to implement measures such as increasing tobacco taxes, introducing health warnings, restricting advertising, reducing second-hand smoke exposure, and scaling up evidence-based cessation programs, while fully implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) without industry interference.

Laurent Huber of ASH highlighted that, while the tobacco-related goals are welcome, they are insufficient. Only 19 countries are currently on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing NCD mortality by one-third. Huber urged countries to go further, fully adopting all evidence-based tobacco control measures and considering a ban on the sale of commercial tobacco, noting that eliminating tobacco use could prevent millions of deaths and save one billion lives globally.