Dr Keith Ball, who died in January aged 92, was one of the unsung giants of tobacco control. A distinguished cardiologist at the Central Middlesex Hospital in London, UK, he was a major contributor to the 1962, 1971 and 1977 reports on tobacco and disease by the Royal College of Physicians of London, and published over five decades on virtually all aspects of tobacco, with a focus on cardiovascular disease, cessation and tobacco control.

In an era before tobacco control advocacy had been invented, Keith was one of the medical leaders who determined after the 1971 report that more action was needed, and co-founded Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) under the College’s auspices. Keith served as honorary secretary, then chairman of ASH, …