Coalition on Smoking OR Health

The Coalition on Smoking OR Health (COSH) was a public policy project with the National Interagency Council on Smoking and Health (NICSH), a voluntary association of health, education, and youth leadership organizations having responsibility or concern with the problem of cigarette smoking on human health. COSH was formed approximately 1976.

The NICSH, along with many of its member organizations, participated in a National Conference on Smoking OR Health in New York in November, 1981. The 230 conferees in attendance recommended a broad agenda of future actions to advance the cause of smoking prevention in the United States. The Conference called on the three major U.S. voluntary health organizations -- the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the the American Lung Association -- to take a leadership role in establishing a national coalition in Washington, D.C. to implement priority recommendations in the area of public policy with regard to smoking. These three agencies, working in close cooperation with the NICSH, established the Coalition on Smoking OR Health to bring the public health issues around smoking to the attention of legislators and federal officials and to promote support for federal smoking prevention education programs.

The Coalition was based in Washington, D.C. and the Chair of the Steering Committee was John D. Kessler. Matthew L. Myers was a staff director of the Coalition on Smoking or Health.