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President’s Budget Devastates Nation’s Efforts to Reduce Tobacco Use and Save Lives
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration’s proposed FY 2018 budget deals a devastating blow to the nation’s efforts to reduce tobacco use – the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States. This budget would eliminate the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, which helps lead the nation’s efforts to reduce tobacco use, and dedicates no funds specifically for tobacco control. While the budget provides funding for a block grant to states for chronic disease prevention, it does not require any of this funding to be spent on tobacco prevention and cessation activities.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Congratulates New Director-General of the World Health Organization
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids congratulates Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on his election as the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Tedros’ skilled leadership will be crucial in the fight to reduce tobacco use, which is a top risk factor for non-communicable diseases like cancer, heart disease and lung disease that cause nearly two out of every three deaths worldwide.
51 Health Groups Urge Administration to Defend and Enforce FDA Rule for E-Cigarettes, Cigars
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Fifty-one leading health groups today urged the current administration to defend and fully implement the 2016 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule establishing public health oversight of electronic cigarettes, cigars and other previously unregulated tobacco products, also known as the deeming rule.
Dr. Vishal Rao of India Honored for Leadership in Fight against Tobacco Use
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Vishal Rao of Karnataka, India will be honored with the 2017 Judy Wilkenfeld Award for International Tobacco Control Excellence for his leadership in the fight against tobacco use in his home state of Karnataka and across India. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids will present Dr. Rao with the award at its annual gala on May 10, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Australia Reported to Win Landmark Trade Case on Tobacco Plain Packaging – Bold Strategy Is Spreading Worldwide
WASHINGTON, DC – According to media reports, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that Australia’s pioneering law requiring plain packaging for tobacco products does not violate international trade and intellectual property agreements. If Australia has prevailed, it is a landmark victory in the global fight against tobacco use and a resounding defeat for the tobacco industry, which has fiercely fought plain packaging laws. To date, the tobacco industry has lost every legal challenge to plain packaging both in international and national courts, not only in Australia, but also in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and the European Union.
House Health Care Bill Harms Efforts to Reduce Smoking, Prevent Cancer and Other Costly Diseases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – If allowed to become law, the health care bill approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives would set back the nation’s efforts to reduce tobacco use and prevent deadly diseases like cancer that impose massive costs on our health care system and disproportionately impact our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
Congressional Budget Deal Protects Kids by Rejecting Tobacco Industry Giveaways
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The budget agreement reached by congressional negotiators delivers critical victories for America’s kids and health over the tobacco industry by rejecting proposals to greatly weaken FDA oversight of electronic cigarettes and cigars and slash funding for the CDC’s programs to reduce tobacco use. By rejecting these special-interest giveaways to tobacco companies, this agreement preserves the FDA’s ability to protect kids from the huge assortment of candy-flavored e-cigarettes and cigars that have flooded the market in recent years and threaten to addict a new generation. The agreement bolsters the nation’s fight against tobacco use – the No. 1 cause of preventable death.
Rep. Hunter’s Bill Guts FDA Oversight of E-Cigarettes – Shows Manufacturers Don’t Want Any Real Regulation to Protect Kids, Public Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation introduced today by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) would repeal the Food and Drug Administration’s current authority to regulate electronic cigarettes and essentially allow the e-cigarette industry to regulate itself. It’s a classic example of letting the fox guard the henhouse. This legislation shows that the real goal of e-cigarette manufacturers isn’t just to amend FDA regulations, but to repeal them completely and escape any meaningful oversight to protect kids and public health.
Appellate Court Orders Tobacco Companies to Move Forward with Long-Overdue Corrective Statements about Dangers of Their Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that tobacco companies must comply with a decade-old court order requiring them to publish corrective statements about the dangers of their products because of a 2006 judgment that they had engaged in a massive conspiracy to deceive the American public. While today’s ruling should clear the way for publication of these long-overdue corrective statements, it is disappointing that the court rejected a requirement that tobacco companies acknowledge the truthfulness of these statements by including the phrase “Here is the truth.” The fact that tobacco companies have repeatedly fought this simple phrase shows they haven’t changed and remain as allergic to the truth as ever.
New Poll: Americans Strongly Support FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products, Oppose Efforts to Weaken Oversight of E-Cigarettes and Cigars
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Voters across party lines overwhelmingly support the 2009 law that gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, and large majorities oppose efforts to weaken FDA oversight of electronic cigarettes and cigars, according to a national poll conducted for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
U.S. FEDERAL ISSUES
The federal government must provide strong leadership in the fight against tobacco use, the number one cause of preventable death in the United States.
After a long battle, Congress and President Obama in 2009 enacted a new law giving the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products and marketing.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids was a leader in the fight for this law and is working to ensure it is vigorously enforced.
The Obama Administration also has launched the first national tobacco control strategy, which calls for a public education campaign and other actions to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from harmful secondhand smoke. It is critical that the plan be robustly funded and effectively implemented.
Go to the Federal Issues section
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
- 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
U.S. STATE AND LOCAL ISSUES
Tobacco use takes a huge toll in health, live and dollars in every state.
Tobacco costs state taxpayers billions each year in Medicaid and other health care expenses and imposes enormous costs on families and businesses.
State and local governments often have been in the forefront of the drive to reduce tobacco use, save lives and save money. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids works to put proven solutions in place in every state and community.
Go to the State and Local Issues section
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 one state currently does
- Broken Promises to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 17 Years Later
Read our report on how the states are collecting billions in tobacco revenue, but are spending less than two percent to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit
- Increasing the Sale Age for Tobacco Products to 21
Nearly all smokers start as kids or young adults, and these age groups are heavily targeted by the tobacco industry. Increasing the sale age will help prevent young people from ever starting to smoke
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Tobacco use killed one hundred million people worldwide in the 20th century. Without urgent action, it will kill one billion people in the 21st century.
An international treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, requires nations to implement proven measures to reduce tobacco use.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids supports governments and non-governmental organizations around the world in promoting and implementing these policies. We are a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, which focuses on low- and middle-income countries where more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will occur in the coming decades.
International Resources
Visit our international website to find multilingual resources.
[ English | Español | Français | Português | Русский | العربية | 中文网 ]Toll of Tobacco Around the World
Get the latest data on tobacco's devastating impact on health, lives and the economy.Tobacco Control Laws
Explore tobacco-control laws and litigation from around the world.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
TOBACCO INDUSTRY WATCH
For decades, the tobacco industry has marketed its deadly products to kids, deceived the public about the harmful effects of tobacco use and fought proven measures to reduce tobacco use.
In a landmark 2006 U.S. federal court ruling, the big cigarette makers were found to be racketeers who engaged in a deadly fraud.
Despite marketing restrictions and the imposition of new Food and Drug Administration regulations, the industry continues to try to thwart the law.
And it has redoubled its promotion of tobacco products around the world, targeting low- and middle-income countries with limited resources to deal with its deadly products and deceptive marketing.
View All Tobacco Industry Watch Reports
Featured Reports
- Still Seeking Replacements
How Big Tobacco targets kids today
- America's Most Wanted Tobacco Villains
The usual suspects, new villains, and emerging threats
- Deadly Alliance
How Big Tobacco and Convenience Stores Partner to Market Tobacco Products and Fight Life-Saving Policies
- 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.
Outside the US? Click here. Are You Inside the US or Canada?CloseWhy join our fight?
- Tobacco will kill 1 Billion people worldwide this century ... unless we act now.
- Tobacco companies must be held accountable for their marketing practices and deception.
- pass strong tobacco control laws, we need public support — we can't do this without you!
By joining our fight, you can help:
- Get artists like Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys to drop tobacco sponsors from their concerts around the world.
- Help pass local legislation that is proven to reduce tobacco use.
Sign up today to receive updates and alerts about opportunities to fight Big Tobacco internationally and in your country.
Your privacy is fully protected and we will never sell your information to a third party. (See Privacy Policy)
Why join our fight?
- Tobacco use will kill 1 Billion people worldwide this century ... unless we act now.
- Tobacco companies must be held accountable for their marketing practices and deception.
- To pass strong tobacco control laws, we need grassroots support — we can't do this without you!
By joining our fight, you can help:
- Get musicians like Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys to drop tobacco sponsors from their concerts around the world
- Knock tobacco out of the park by getting all tobacco use out of Major League Baseball.
- Pass government policies at the federal, state and local levels that are proven to reduce tobacco use.
Sign up today to receive updates and alerts about opportunities to fight Big Tobacco nationally and in your own community.
Your privacy is fully protected and we will never sell your information to a third party. (See Privacy Policy)
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You have joined the global fight against Big Tobacco. Look out for emails from Tobacco-Free Kids on opportunities to get involved. In the meantime, learn more about our international program.Thank You!
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Fact Sheet Finder View all
- Toll of Tobacco in the U.S.A.
- Toll of Tobacco Around the World
- FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: A Common Sense Law to Protect Kids and Save Lives
- Raising Cigarette Taxes Reduces Smoking, Especially Among Kids (and the Cigarette Companies Know It)
- Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Harm Business at Restaurants and Bars
- United States
- International
Featured International Content
The Global Epidemic
Tobacco will kill one billion people in the 21 century - unless we act now.
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