Maryland Cancer Action Center

This week, legislation was introduced that would create an exemption to the Clean Indoor Air Act and expand the number of businesses that allow smoking. House Bill 766 is the product of a workgroup established in 2024--without public health organization representation—to discuss whether the state should amend 18 years of precedent by issuing alcoholic beverage licenses to certain tobacco retailers and exempting these workplaces from the smoke-free law.

With the imminent release of Governor Wes Moore’s executive budget proposal, cancer survivors are increasingly anxious about what this budget will mean for three key line items. They are hopeful that the state restores funding for the tobacco control program and maintains its investments in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Program (BCCDT) as well as ongoing research at the University of Maryland Medical System Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and the Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Their message to the governor and General Assembly: cancer prevention and early detection and the research behind modern screening, treatment and prevention tools are critical in the fight against cancer.

Maryland cancer patients, survivors and advocates are marking the American Cancer Society's 49th annual Great American Smokeout by calling on elected officials across the state to do more to reduce tobacco use and keep communities smoke-free. The Great American Smokeout is a day for people who smoke or use any form of tobacco, including e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches, to create a plan to quit.

The Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 773 and House Bill 1246, finding common ground on the effort to make prescription drugs more affordable. The proposal now heads to Governor Wes Moore’s desk.