Administration’s Budget Would Devastate CDC Efforts to Fight Chronic Disease and Tobacco Use – Congress Must Fund These Lifesaving Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Administration’s Fiscal 2026 budget plan released Friday includes devastating funding cuts to the CDC and other health agencies. It would eliminate lifesaving public health programs such as the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which includes the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. 

The President’s budget request is only the first step in the appropriations process. The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse and the responsibility to fund the government. We urge Congress to reject these harmful cuts and properly fund critical public health programs, including the CDC’s tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

These massive budget cuts would cause enormous harm to the nation’s health, and they are at odds with the Administration’s own stated commitment to reduce chronic disease and protect children’s health, as well as to save money. Any strategy focused on reducing chronic disease must address the use of tobacco products. Cigarette smoking is a primary driver of chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, COPD and diabetes. Tobacco use also remains a major threat to children’s health as the tobacco industry continues to target kids with dangerous and highly addictive products like flavored e-cigarettes. Altogether, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., killing nearly 500,000 Americans every year and costing over $241 billion in annual health care expenses, more than 60% of which is paid by taxpayers through government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health has played an essential leadership role in protecting kids and saving lives from tobacco. It has provided critical assistance and support to state prevention and cessation programs, provided funding for quitlines and other services to help smokers quit, and conducted the Tips from Former Smokers media campaign, which has been highly successful at motivating smokers to quit and saved an estimated $7.3 billion in health care costs. The CDC has also conducted the National Youth Tobacco Survey and other surveys that track trends in tobacco use, including the emergence of threats such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. 

The elimination of these programs would benefit the tobacco industry at the expense of kids and lives.