Tobacco Regulation and Products

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Tobacco Regulation and Products

Tobacco Control

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.

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House Agriculture Spending Bill Provisions Could Jeopardize Efforts to Reduce Tobacco-Related Cancers and Save Lives

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.

Senate Chooses Big Tobacco Over Kids

May 4, 2023
South Carolina

Today, in a 26-16 vote, the Senate passed a bill (HB 3681) that would take away the power of all localities’ ability to pass laws that regulate the sale of tobacco products. The bill’s advancement to the full floor vote by the Senate came outside of the typical legislative process due to the strong opposition from lawmakers

Declines in Cigarette Use by Adults Show Impact of Evidence-Based Tobacco Control Policies  

May 4, 2023
National

Cigarette smoking declined from 12.5% in 2020 to 11.5% in 2021, but one in five, or 46 million, U.S. adults continues to use tobacco products in 2021 according to new data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lives On The Line As FDA Continues to Delay Finalizing Rules on Menthol in Cigarettes and Flavors in Cigars

April 26, 2023
National

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its proposed rules to eliminate menthol cigarettes and eliminate all flavors in cigars. Now, nearly one year later, the rules are still not final. This inaction has allowed Big Tobacco to continue targeting these products to the Black community, who consistently reports the highest prevalence of menthol cigarette use.

Tobacco Regulation and Products Resources

E-Cigarettes and Youth

May 30, 2023

The U.S. Surgeon General declared youth e-cigarette use to be an epidemic. E-cigarettes are the most used tobacco product among youth and, like any tobacco product, are unsafe. E-cigarette use is also most common among younger adults. Action is urgently needed to reverse these dangerous trends.

Tobacco Excise Taxes Improve the Health of People with Limited Incomes

April 20, 2023

Tobacco excise taxes benefit people with limited incomes and reduce tobacco-related health disparities, especially when tobacco excise tax revenues are dedicated to cessation programs that serve people with limited incomes.

Delayed Implementation of Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarettes Harms Public Health

April 17, 2023

Implementation of graphic warnings in the U.S. has been thwarted by tobacco industry legal challenges. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), along with our partners, have fought back in the judicial system, using litigation to both compel the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue graphic warning regulations and help the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defend the regulations finalized by FDA.