Prevention and Cessation

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We have launched campaigns in cities and states across the nation to prevent stores from selling tobacco products to people under age 21.  Already passed in California, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, and Oregon, and hundreds of cities, this change promises to make it less likely that children become addicted to tobacco products.

Overall, our work to reduce tobacco use has led to funding for highly successful quitlines and youth programs that educate children about the perils of using tobacco, including cigarettes, hookah and e-cigarettes. 

Together, these programs and our Tobacco 21 campaign will help prevent children from starting a deadly tobacco addiction and help more adults quit. 

Smoking rates are at their lowest levels in decades, with 8 percent of high school kids and 15.5 percent of adults smoking cigarettes.

Latest Updates

August 3, 2022
Missouri

COLUMBIA, MO - Today, Governor Parson, cancer survivors and health advocates met at the University of Missouri to celebrate the state’s new funding for tobacco cessation and prevention. In Missouri, smoking is responsible for 11,000 deaths in our state each year, including 31% of cancer deaths. Smoking remains the number

July 28, 2022
National

Today the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released its FY 2023 spending bill that includes a $2 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a $291 million funding boost for the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

July 22, 2022
Washington

Vancouver, Wash. — Representative Paul Harris (R-Vancouver) received the Legislator of the Year Award from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in recognition of his significant contributions to the fight against cancer in Washington state, including his leadership this past session on tobacco control efforts. During

July 8, 2022

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released proposed changes to the 2023 Medicare program that, if finalized, would eliminate cost sharing for colonoscopies after a positive non-invasive screening test, and lower the minimum age of colorectal cancer screening to 45.

Prevention and Cessation Resources

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.

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.

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.