Tobacco Regulation and Products

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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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Protect our Children from Big Tobacco

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

Latest Updates

April 23, 2025
Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. -– American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network advocates call on Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson to refuse to allow the long-term health of Washington residents to become collateral damage to the state’s current budget crisis. The state’s cancer prevention programs are one of the reasons Washington cancer incidence numbers

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

April 23, 2025
Montana

HELENA, Mont. –– The Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday defeated Senate Bill 150, siding with the overwhelming majority of voters who have stated a clear preference to not have cigar smoke polluting the spaces where they dine and gather with family and friends. SB 150 was defeated 54-45 on

April 2, 2025
National

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) followed the law in issuing marketing denial orders (MDOs) for certain flavored e-cigarette products.

Tobacco Regulation and Products Resources

When faced with mounting evidence that tobacco tax increases effectively reduce tobacco use, tobacco manufacturers will try to distract policymakers from the material facts by invoking dire warnings of reduced revenue due to increased illicit activity including widespread smuggling and other organized crime that they claim will result from increased taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

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.

 

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.