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Tobacco Control

ACS CAN supports a comprehensive approach to reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, including increasing taxes on all tobacco products, implementing comprehensive smoke-free laws, fully funding and sustaining evidence-based, statewide tobacco control programs, ensuring access to clinical cessation services and working with the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products and their marketing.

Tobacco Control Resources:

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

November 8, 2024

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.

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.

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.

Fact-Based Tobacco Control Policies: How Does Your State Measure Up?

August 1, 2024

A progress report on state legislative actions to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related cancer.

Effective Policies Known to Prevent Tobacco Use and Address Tobacco-Related Disparities

July 23, 2024

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.

Tobacco Excise Tax Increases: Save Lives. Reduce Health Care Costs. Generate Revenue.

July 23, 2024

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that includes significantly increasing excise taxes on all tobacco products to generate revenue, protect kids, and save lives. Significant tobacco tax increases are one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and help adults quit.

The Effect of Smoke-free Policies on Workers’ Health: The Need for Smoke-free Laws

July 9, 2024

Smoke-free policies reduce exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in office and non-office worksites. This has been proven by reduced nicotine concentration levels in the bloodstream of the adults who work in these settings.

 

Secondhand Smoke Jeopardizes Worker Health: The Need for Smoke-free Laws

July 9, 2024

More than 40 years after former U.S. Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld first exposed the potential health risks of secondhand smoke (SHS) in 1971, and nearly 30 years after a subsequent Surgeon General’s report stated that SHS causes lung cancer and other diseases, all U.S. workers still do not have the right to breathe smoke-free air.

Smoke-free Laws: Everyone Has the Right to Breathe Clean, Smoke-free Air

May 31, 2024

ACS CAN advocates for everyone’s right to breathe smoke-free air so that no one is forced to choose between their health and a paycheck. ACS CAN urges state and local officials to pass and protect comprehensive smoke-free laws in all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities.

Regulation and Products Resources:

Massachusetts' Flavored Tobacco Law is Effective

March 3, 2023

The Tobacco Industry is Not the Public Health Solution

February 9, 2023

Big tobacco has a history of prioritizing corporate profits over people and communities burdened by tobacco-related illness and death. For decades, the tobacco industry has lied to specific communities and the public at large saying their products are not addictive, harmful or deadly. Tobacco manufacturers continue to create and flood the market with newly designed products they market as being less harmful and alternatives to quitting – a tactic that is not new.

Big Tobacco Targets People with Limited Incomes

January 12, 2023

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific populations, including people with limited incomes. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies. Every year the tobacco industry spends $9.1 billion in the United States marketing their deadly and addictive products. 

Big Tobacco Targets the Black Community

December 15, 2022

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including African Americans. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

Big Tobacco Targets the LGBTQ+ Community

December 15, 2022

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including the LGBTQ+ community. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

Tobacco Control Partners letter to FDA on Enforcement of Synthetic Nicotine

May 12, 2022

The undersigned organizations write today to urge you to enforce the Congressionally-mandated deadlines for Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs) for synthetic nicotine products and not allow any delays of those deadlines.

Use of Menthol Cigarettes Higher for Black Americans, LGBTQ, and Lower Income Individuals

April 26, 2022

High rates of menthol cigarette use is the result of deliberate actions by the tobacco industry to target certain populations. Decades of tobacco industry documents show how the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans, as well as LGBTQ+ and low-income communities with menthol cigarettes.

Use of Flavored Cigars Higher for Black Americans, Younger, and Lower Income Individuals

April 26, 2022

Cigars are tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaf or wrapped in a substance containing tobacco leaf. They can come in all shapes and sizes. One study found that the sales of cigarillos - which comprise most cigar sales - increased from 2016 to 2020 while their prices decreased. Lower prices can make tobacco products more attractive to youth because they are price sensitive. The study also found a significant increase in the sales of certain flavored cigarillos and large cigars.

Among adults who currently smoke cigars, those who used flavored products were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black individuals, younger, and have lower household incomes.

Health Impact of Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars

April 26, 2022

Flavors are a marketing ploy tobacco manufacturers use to target youth and young people to a lifetime of addiction. Adding flavors can improve the ease of use of a product by masking harsh effects, facilitating nicotine uptake, and increasing a product’s overall appeal.

Smoke Free Resources:

The Effect of Smoke-free Policies on Workers’ Health: The Need for Smoke-free Laws

July 9, 2024

Smoke-free policies reduce exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in office and non-office worksites. This has been proven by reduced nicotine concentration levels in the bloodstream of the adults who work in these settings.

 

Secondhand Smoke Jeopardizes Worker Health: The Need for Smoke-free Laws

July 9, 2024

More than 40 years after former U.S. Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld first exposed the potential health risks of secondhand smoke (SHS) in 1971, and nearly 30 years after a subsequent Surgeon General’s report stated that SHS causes lung cancer and other diseases, all U.S. workers still do not have the right to breathe smoke-free air.

Smoke-free Laws: Everyone Has the Right to Breathe Clean, Smoke-free Air

May 31, 2024

ACS CAN advocates for everyone’s right to breathe smoke-free air so that no one is forced to choose between their health and a paycheck. ACS CAN urges state and local officials to pass and protect comprehensive smoke-free laws in all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities.

Smoke-Free Policies: Good For Business

May 31, 2024

Research has repeatedly shown that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). Smoke-free laws and policies provide immediate and long-term health benefits for both people who smoke and those who do not and are good for businesses and workers.

The Risks of Secondhand Smoke in Casinos

May 30, 2024

Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is an occupational hazard for many casino workers – from dealers to security. But when smoking is permitted in casinos, no one – even patrons – is safe from SHS exposure. Job-related exposure to SHS is a significant, but entirely preventable, cause of premature death among U.S. workers.

 

Prevention and Cessation Resources:

Decriminalizing Commercial Tobacco: Addressing Systemic Racism in the Enforcement of Commercial Tobacco Control

December 9, 2020

This joint statement from a consortium of public health organizations sets forth aspirational principles to help local and state health departments, decisionmakers, advocates, and other stakeholders advance equitable enforcement practices related to the purchase, possession, sale, and distribution of all tobacco products. These principles can also help address tobacco addiction and reduce tobacco-related harms while maintaining and improving the efficacy of enforcement of commercial tobacco laws and policies.

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Tobacco Taxes Resources:

Tobacco Excise Tax Increases: Save Lives. Reduce Health Care Costs. Generate Revenue.

July 23, 2024

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that includes significantly increasing excise taxes on all tobacco products to generate revenue, protect kids, and save lives. Significant tobacco tax increases are one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and help adults quit.

The Importance of Tax Parity for All Tobacco Products

February 15, 2024

Increasing tobacco excise taxes is one of the best ways to reduce overall tobacco use. It is important that when considering an excise tax increase on any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, that the tax should be increased on all tobacco products at an equivalent rate to encourage people to quit rather than switch to a cheaper product, and prevent youth from starting to use any tobacco product.

 

Despite Industry Claims, Tobacco Taxes Do Not Cause Illicit Trade

February 8, 2024

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.

State Tobacco Tax Increases: Explanations and Sources for Projections of New Revenues & Benefits

January 4, 2024

The economic model developed jointly by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (TFK), the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), and Tobacconomics (a program of the University of Illinois at Chicago) projects the increase in state revenues, public health benefits, and health care cost savings resulting from increases in state cigarette tax rates.  The projections are updated annually.  Calculations are based on economic modeling by Frank Chaloupka, Ph.D., and John Tauras, Ph.D., at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jidong Huang, Ph.D., at Georgia State University, and Michael Pesko, Ph.D., at the University of Missouri.

Cigarette Tax Increases of $1.00+ Per Pack Ensure Public Health Impact

July 7, 2023

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.

 

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.