Key Federal Issues

• FDA Authority Over Tobacco

  A landmark 2009 law gives the FDA authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products

• Graphic Warning Labels

  New law requires large, graphic cigarette warnings, but tobacco companies fight change to protect profits

• National Tobacco Control Strategy

  Learn more about the Administration's plan to reinvigorate efforts to reduce tobacco use

• Health Care Reform

  New law bolsters disease prevention and expands coverage for quit-smoking therapies

• Federal Tobacco Taxes

  Higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking, raise revenue and are popular with the public

• Internet Tobacco Sales

  The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act bars the illegal sale of tax-evading tobacco products over the Internet

• Trade and Tobacco

  Tobacco products should be excluded from trade agreements

The Toll of Tobacco in the U.S.

Key State and Local Issues

• Smoke-Free Laws

  More and more states and localities are passing smoke-free laws that protect everyone's right to breathe clean air

• State Tobacco Taxes

  Tobacco taxes are a win-win-win for states: they raise billions in revenue, reduce smoking and are popular with voters

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Programs

  Every state should fund prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels. Only two states currently do

• A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later

  Read our report on how the states are collecting billions in tobacco revenue, but are spending less to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit

Key International Issues

• Advertising and Promotion

  Bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship reduce tobacco use, especially among youth

• Illicit Trade/Smuggling

  International and national policies are needed to combat the illicit tobacco trade, which harms public health and global security and costs governments billions

• Light and Low-Tar Cigarettes

  Nations must stop the marketing of cigarettes as "light" and "low-tar," which falsely promotes some cigarettes as less harmful

• Public Education Campaigns

  Aggressive campaigns prevent children from smoking, help smokers quit and change public attitudes

• Smoke-Free Laws

  There is a fast-growing global movement to adopt 100 percent smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces and public places

• Taxation & Price

  Higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking, save lives and increase revenues

• Warning Labels

  Large, graphic warning labels increase knowledge of health risks and influence decisions whether to smoke

Featured Reports

• U.S. Courts: Big Tobacco Guilty as Charged

  Major tobacco companies are racketeers who conspired to deceive the public and target children

• The "Light and Low" Deception

  The tobacco industry is trying to thwart FDA's new ban and perpetuate a deadly fraud

• International Industry Watch

  Big Tobacco targets low- and middle-income countries with its deadly products and deceptive marketing.

• Deadly in Pink: Targeting Women and Girls

  Tobacco companies target women and girls with seductive advertising that exploits the desire for independence and glamour