Tobacco Control

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Tobacco products are projected to kill one billion people worldwide this century. And the industry is showing no signs of slowing down, spending more than $9 billion on marketing each year. 

Despite the industry's deceptive and deadly practices, ACS CAN continues to have enormous success passing local, state and federal laws that prevent children from smoking, help adults quit and ensure the government uses its authority to regulate tobacco industry practices.

While our work has had an enormous impact on youth cigarette use - now at historic lows - the use of e-cigarettes among kids is skyrocketing.  This further reinforces the importance of continuing this lifesaving work.

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Protect our Children from Big Tobacco

The tobacco industry has preyed upon young people by marketing products that appeal to kids.

Latest Updates

June 11, 2025
Ohio

Ohio Still Has an Opportunity to Generate Revenue, Protect Kids, and Save Lives

May 8, 2025
New York

This week, New York state leaders released details on the state budget for FY 2025-26 and patient advocates are responding with disappointment over the failure to produce solutions to improve New Yorkers’ access to paid leave and, with it, their financial mobility. The same advocates visited Albany last month for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACS CAN) annual Cancer Action Day to promote the importance of Senate Bill 172/Assembly Bill 84, the proposal to improve New Yorkers’ access to time off during treatment which now has 73 Assembly co-sponsors and passed the Senate in March.

April 30, 2025
Colorado

Volunteer advocates with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) commend Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado General Assembly for including substantial funding for tobacco control and cancer screening programs in the 2025-2026 fiscal year appropriations bill, signed into law Tuesday during a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion.

April 23, 2025
Montana

HELENA, Mont. –– Cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and advocates from throughout the state call on lawmakers to honor the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act and vote to kill Senate Bill 150 today after it narrowly passed second reading on Tuesday, 51-49. The bill would allow cigar smoking in restaurants, bars

Tobacco Control Resources

More than 40 years after former U.S. Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld first exposed the potential health risks of secondhand smoke (SHS) in 1971, and nearly 30 years after a subsequent Surgeon General’s report stated that SHS causes lung cancer and other diseases, all U.S. workers still do not have the right to breathe smoke-free air.

ACS CAN and 77 leading public health organizations urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its enforcement partners at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to use all the enforcement tools at their disposal against manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers to clear the market of unauthorized e-cigarette products, including flavored products that put young people at risk for nicotine addiction and other significant health harms.

Tobacco use causes about one-third of cancer deaths in the nation overall, but the burden varies by state.