Tobacco Control

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Tobacco products are projected to kill one billion people worldwide this century. And the industry is showing no signs of slowing down, spending more than $9 billion on marketing each year. 

Despite the industry's deceptive and deadly practices, ACS CAN continues to have enormous success passing local, state and federal laws that prevent children from smoking, help adults quit and ensure the government uses its authority to regulate tobacco industry practices.

While our work has had an enormous impact on youth cigarette use - now at historic lows - the use of e-cigarettes among kids is skyrocketing.  This further reinforces the importance of continuing this lifesaving work.

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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 15, 2025
Indiana

Today, the Indiana legislature passed the budget, sending it to the conference committee. Unfortunately, this version of the budget does not include increased tobacco taxes or funding for programs that help prevent tobacco use and help those already addicted quit.

April 11, 2025
West Virginia

West Virginia Can and Must Do Better When It Comes to Reducing Tobacco Use

April 9, 2025
Ohio

Ohio Can and Must Do Better When It Comes to Reducing Tobacco Use

April 8, 2025
Maryland

Maryland state lawmakers have released details on the agreed upon 2025-26 budget—the contents of which are a mixed bag in the fight against cancer. While the state made sound investments in cancer research and protected Medicaid recipients’ ability to access biomarker testing, it missed an opportunity to save the lives and lungs of Maryland’s youth by cutting funding for the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Tobacco Control Resources

Tobacco control partners provided comments on the Request for Information; Coverage of Over-the-Counter Preventative Services (CMS-9891-NC), including three nicotine replacement (NRT) products, which would increase access to effective tobacco cessation medications for adults who want to quit using commerncial 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.