The American Lung Affiliation’s 2026 “State of Tobacco Management” Report says cuts to federal tobacco prevention efforts put lives in danger.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Federal rollback dangers: The 2026 State of Tobacco Management report warns that main cuts to CDC and FDA tobacco prevention applications in 2025 threaten many years of progress in lowering tobacco-related deaths.
- Prevention efforts work however are fragile: Declines in grownup smoking and youth use present that sustained funding and enforcement are efficient, but weakened federal management might rapidly reverse these positive aspects.
- Name for renewed funding and state motion: The American Lung Affiliation urges Congress and states to revive funding, strengthen regulation, and increase cessation and prevention applications to guard public well being.
The American Lung Affiliation’s twenty fourth annual “State of Tobacco Management” report at the moment, warning that the biggest federal rollback of tobacco prevention efforts in many years is placing hard-won progress in danger. Tobacco use stays the nation’s main reason for preventable demise and illness, claiming the lives of greater than 490,000 folks annually. The report evaluates state and federal efforts to stop and scale back tobacco use and points pressing suggestions for motion.
In 2025, the tobacco management and prevention panorama basically modified when the administration took a sequence of actions that weakened enforcement and jeopardized public well being efforts throughout the nation. These included the digital elimination of the US CDC Workplace on Smoking and Well being, main staffing cuts to the US FDA’s Heart for Tobacco Merchandise and delaying Congressionally appropriated funding for practically six months.
Because of this, tobacco management and quitline applications in all 50 states and the District of Columbia had been left vulnerable to shutting down, with some states drastically lowering lifesaving companies.
“These unprecedented disruptions will embolden the tobacco trade to increase its predatory advertising and marketing and put extra lives in danger,” stated Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Affiliation. “These choices are usually not summary—they instantly have an effect on whether or not folks can entry quitline counseling, whether or not states can run prevention applications that assist communities, and whether or not children are shielded from the following era of tobacco merchandise. With the federal authorities reversing long-established tobacco prevention efforts, states should now take the lead. We urge everybody to affix our effort and inform policymakers that defending well being should come first.”
Tobacco use exacts a staggering toll throughout the nation. Cigarette smoking prices the U.S. greater than $600 billion annually in healthcare expenditures and misplaced productiveness, inserting a large burden on the nation’s healthcare system and economic system. Although youth tobacco use is on the lowest degree in 25 years, 2.25 million center college and highschool college students nonetheless use extremely addictive and harmful tobacco merchandise, together with e-cigarettes. Near 90% of youth who use e-cigarettes use flavored merchandise.
Grownup smoking charges have dropped from 23.3% in 2000 to 10.8% in 2023—proof that sustained prevention and stop tobacco efforts work. Nonetheless, the report warns that with out sturdy federal and state prevention efforts, this progress might rapidly unravel.
Federal Grades Overview
The 2026 “State of Tobacco Management” report grades the federal authorities in 5 areas:
| Federal Regulation of Tobacco Merchandise | Federal Protection of Give up Smoking Remedies | Degree of Federal Tobacco Taxes | Federal Mass Media Campaigns to Forestall and Scale back Tobacco Use | Federal Funding for Tobacco Prevention and Management | |
| Grade | D | D | F | *I (incomplete) | B |
*The federal authorities will get an I for Incomplete on this class on account of information not with the ability to be obtained concerning the length, attain and frequency of the Actual Price marketing campaign in 2025.
Actions Beneficial
Within the “State of Tobacco Management” report, the Lung Affiliation recognized 5 key actions for the Trump administration and Congress to soak up 2026 that may assist finally eradicate the demise and illness brought on by tobacco use:
- Congress and the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) should restore and absolutely workers the CDC’s Workplace on Smoking and Well being (OSH) to make sure that states obtain tobacco prevention and cessation funding, that complete federal surveillance and analysis of tobacco can proceed, and that the nation regains a functioning federal tobacco management and prevention infrastructure to scale back tobacco-related power illness;
- Congress and HHS should reestablish and adequately fund the Ideas from Former People who smoke marketing campaign so CDC can as soon as once more ship confirmed, lifesaving tobacco prevention and cessation messages to folks throughout the nation;
- Congress and HHS should defend the independence of the USA Preventive Companies Job Power (USPSTF) to make sure entry to evidence-based companies, together with stop tobacco therapies and lung most cancers screening with no cost-sharing;
- Congress should go laws requiring e-cigarette producers to pay consumer charges to offer the FDA with the assets wanted for sturdy oversight and enforcement. With these assets, FDA, the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) and different members of the multi-agency taskforce should act decisively to take away unlawful e-cigarettes from {the marketplace}; and
- FDA should preserve a powerful, science-based public well being customary when reviewing and authorizing tobacco merchandise, guaranteeing choices defend children and public well being fairly than increasing entry to addictive merchandise.
State Grades Overview
The 2026 report graded states and the District of Columbia in 5 areas which have been confirmed to stop and scale back tobacco use and save lives:
- Energy of Smokefree Office Legal guidelines – 13 states and Washington, D.C. earned A grades
- Ending the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Merchandise – 46 states earned F grades
- Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Applications – 40 states and Washington, D.C., earned F grades
- Degree of State Tobacco Taxes – 35 states earned F grades
- Protection and Entry to Companies to Give up Tobacco – 18 states and Washington, D.C. earned A or B grades
Greatest Graded States
| State | Tobacco Program Funding | Smokefree Air | Tobacco Taxes | Entry to Cessation | Flavored Tobacco Merchandise |
| California | D | B | C | A | B |
| Colorado | A | B | C | A | B |
| Delaware | A | A | D | A | F |
| District of Columbia | F | A | A | C | A |
| Maine | A | A | A | B | F |
| Massachusetts | F | A | B | C | A |
Worst Graded States
| State | Tobacco Program Funding | Smokefree Air | Tobacco Taxes | Entry to Cessation | Flavored Tobacco Merchandise |
| Alabama, | F | F | F | F | F |
| Georgia, | F | F | F | F | F |
| Mississippi | F | F | F | F | F |
| Texas | F | F | F | F | F |
| Missouri | F | F | F | D | F |
| New Hampshire | F | F | F | D | F |
| North Carolina | F | F | F | D | F |
| Tennessee | F | D | F | F | F |
Most Improved States
- Maine elevated its Tobacco Taxes grade from a C to a B and its Smokefree Air grade from a B to an A on account of passing a $1.50 cigarette tax enhance and absolutely including e-cigarettes to its smokefree office legislation.
- Montana elevated its Funding for Tobacco Prevention and Management grade from an F to a D and its Smokefree Air grade from a B to an A on account of passing a virtually $2 million enhance in tobacco prevention and management funding and including e-cigarettes to its smokefree office legislation.
“The administration has stated it desires to scale back power illness in each youngsters and adults. This aim can’t be achieved with out funding and staffing to deal with the nation’s main reason for preventable demise and illness: tobacco use. We name on Congress to revive these lifesaving investments,” stated Wimmer.
Within the “State of Tobacco Management” report, the American Lung Affiliation calls on the federal authorities to completely restore essential tobacco management applications, together with CDC’s Workplace on Smoking and Well being. Federal management is important. Within the present absence of federal management, the group is looking on state legislatures to advance sturdy, fact-based tobacco management insurance policies that defend communities and scale back tobacco use.
To study extra about this yr’s “State of Tobacco Management” grades and take motion, go to Lung.org/sotc.
