Tobacco Regulation and Products

In 2009, we won a hard-fought campaign that led to Congress passing a law granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate all tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars and hookah. Yet, it took the FDA seven years to begin their oversight of many of these products with much more work left to be done. 

Recent spikes in the use of e-cigarettes makes clear that more must be done to regulate tobacco products and the industry's deceptive marketing practices.  We are working to ensure the government fully leverages the regulatory power it now possesses to protect children and adults. 

Tobacco use costs our nation nearly $300 billion in health care and productivity losses each year.

Take Action

Smoke

Urge the FDA to say "no" to Big Tobacco's use of flavors in their products!

For years, Big Tobacco has used flavored products and predatory marketing practices to lure kids and communities of color to their deadly products. This needs to stop. 

Latest Updates

September 7, 2023
National

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) launched a new campaign, “Empower Vape-Free Youth,” which aims to empower educators to speak with youth about the risks associated with e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction and to encourage youth to avoid and/or quit e-cigarettes.

June 22, 2023
National

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation and Truth Initiative released data showing from January 2020 to December 2022, there was an increase in e-cigarette unit sales by nearly 47% and an increase in the total number of e-cigarette brands sold by 46.2%.

June 14, 2023
National

An FY 2024 Agriculture Appropriations bill being considered in the U.S. House includes several provisions that would keep the FDA from fulfilling its duty to protect public health and threaten its efforts to combat the harmful impacts of tobacco.

May 18, 2023

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to consider an appropriations bill to fund the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other related agencies for Fiscal Year 2024. The bill includes several provisions that would keep the FDA from fulfilling its duty to protect public health and threaten its efforts to combat the harmful impacts of tobacco.

Tobacco Regulation and Products Resources

Tobacco use has been found to be one of the primary drivers of cancer-related health disparities because its use disproportionately impacts people based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, mental health, income level, education level, and geographic location. Achieving health equity relies heavily on eliminating tobacco use. ACS CAN is pursuing fact-based tobacco control policies at the local, state and federal levels that aim to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes for everyone.

Cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars pose a real danger to the long-term health of all Americans – especially young people – yet government regulation of these products lags behind that of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that includes significantly increasing excise taxes on all forms of tobacco. Regular, significant excise tax increases of $1.00 or more per pack of cigarettes are one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from starting to use cigarettes and to help adults quit. Tobacco excise taxes can also reduce tobacco-related health disparities among people with limited incomes, pregnant persons and among racial and ethnic populations.