Public Policy Resources

Share

Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disparities through Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policies

April 7, 2023

Tobacco use is one of the primary causes of cancer-related health disparities - disproportionately impacting people by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, mental health, income and education levels, and geographic location.[i],[ii],[iii] Eliminating health disparities depends heavily on eliminating tobacco use.[iv] 

ACS CAN is pursuing evidence-based policies at the local, state, and federal levels that aim to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes for all individuals by:

  • Implementing comprehensive smoke-free policies in all workplaces, including restaurants, bars, and gaming facilities.
  • Increasing the price of tobacco products through regular and significant tobacco tax increases of at least $1 per pack of cigarettes with an equivalent tax on all other tobacco products.
  • Adequately funding evidence-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs that work to identify and eliminate tobacco-related disparities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national Tips from Former Smokers campaign and state-based programs. 
  • Advocating for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its full authority to regulate tobacco products and prohibit all flavored products, including menthol.
  • Increasing access to comprehensive cessation coverage in Medicaid and private insurance plans that encompass individual, group, and telephone counseling and all seven FDA-approved tobacco cessation medications.
  • Advocating that state and local government pass comprehensive policies to end the sale of flavored tobacco products that include all tobacco products, all flavors, and all tobacco retailers.
 

[i] Irvin Vidrine J, Reitzel LR, Wetter DW. The role of tobacco in cancer health disparities. Curr Oncol Rep. 2009 Nov;11(6):475-81. doi: 10.1007/s11912-009-0064-9. PMID: 19840525; PMCID: PMC5031414.

[ii] Webb Hooper M. Editorial: Preventing Tobacco-Related Cancer Disparities: A Focus on Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations. Ethn Dis. 2018 Jul 12;28(3):129-132. doi: 10.18865/ed.28.3.129. PMID: 30038472; PMCID: PMC6051506.

[iii] Tong EK, Fagan P, Cooper L, Canto M, Carroll W, Foster-Bey J, Hébert JR, Lopez-Class M, Ma GX, Nez Henderson P, Pérez-Stable EJ, Santos L, Smith JH, Tan Y, Tsoh J, Chu K. Working to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities from Tobacco: A Review of the National Cancer Institute's Community Networks Program. Nicotine Tob Res. 2015 Aug;17(8):908-23. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv069. PMID: 26180215; PMCID: PMC4542844.

[iv] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy People 2030, accessed March 14, 2023, retrieved from https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/health-equity-healthy-pe....

PDF icon Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disparities through Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policies Fact Sheet FINAL 4.7.23.pdf

Related Resources

November 8, 2024

History of the Racketeering Lawsuit Against the Tobacco Industry: Guilty of Deceiving the American Public

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against major tobacco manufacturers Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria to hold the industry accountable for more than 50 years of conspiring to defraud the public in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Big Tobacco, an industry which has for decades knowingly addicted and endangered the lives of millions of Americans for their own profit, must now post the truth about their deadly products, including at the point-of-sale (POS) for approximately 220,000 tobacco retailers.

Read More

ACS CAN & Federal Tobacco Litigation - An Overview

October 25, 2024

The tobacco industry has a history of using litigation to avoid and delay laws and regulations enacted to safeguard the public. ACS CAN, with our tobacco control partners, has also relied on the courts to hold Big Tobacco accountable and to ensure the federal government is effectively implementing the Tobacco Control Act.

Read more

Delayed Implementation of Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarettes Harms Public Health

October 25, 2024

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.

Read more