Cheeseman New ASH Chief
Hazel Cheeseman was appointed by the Trustees to take up the role of chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health following the announcement of Deborah Arnott’s retirement
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by Dave Cross
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Hazel Cheeseman was appointed by the Trustees to take up the role of chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) following the announcement of Deborah Arnott’s retirement. She will commence the position from 1 October 2024. ASH says there was “an open and competitive recruitment process”. The ASH chief executive plays a key role in influencing the government on its vape legislation.
Hazel has worked in senior roles at ASH for over 10 years before becoming deputy chief executive in 2021. She has played a key role in the development of the organisation, including:
- Establishing the Mental Health & Smoking Partnership: a coalition of leading mental health and public health charities committed to ending the excess in premature death caused by smoking among people with mental health conditions.
- ASH’s first report on tobacco retailers, including first UK analysis of tobacco retail sales data showing that small retailers make only limited profits from the sale of tobacco.
- Producing innovative reports on how social housing providers can better support the nearly a third of tenants who smoke to quit.
- Securing funding from NHSE to support implementation of tobacco dependency treatment services in the NHS.
- Securing funding from Cancer Research UK to develop ASH’s work across risk factors, leading to a substantial role in a new UKRI funded programme to address the commercial determinants of health at a local level.
Prior to joining ASH, Hazel worked in the palliative care, homelessness and housing sectors. Hazel has worked for ASH for over 10 years and is a substantial and well-respected figure in the tobacco control community. As Chief Executive she will help the organisation to build on the charity’s many achievements to date, while steering ASH through an evolving political landscape and strategy refresh.
Commenting on the appointment, ASH Chair Prof Nick Hopkinson, said: “We are delighted to appoint Hazel from a highly competitive field of candidates. Under Deborah, ASH has been a force for change over the last 21 years and we owe her a debt of gratitude for the contribution she has made to the nation’s health. Hazel will continue that work ensuring that no group is left behind as we move towards being a country where smoking is obsolete.”
Hazel Cheeseman commented: “This is an incredibly exciting time to take up the helm at ASH. Deborah’s achievements over the last two decades have been extraordinary and with the continued progress of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill we are on track to be the first country in the world to phase out the sale of tobacco. The question for the coming years will not be if we can become a smokefree country but just how quickly this can be achieved.”
Deborah Arnott continued: “The future of ASH is in safe hands. Hazel is very well connected and greatly respected in the health community, with all the knowledge, skills and expertise needed to lead the organisation. Having worked closely with her for over 10 years I know that she will be an excellent chief executive, and more than that will be an innovative public health leader, breaking new ground for ASH and accelerating progress towards a smokefree future.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
