New Report Details Devastating Impact of Federal Cuts on Lifesaving Tobacco Prevention and Quit Programs

Today, ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the American Lung Association released a new report that examines the immediate impacts of the dramatic cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and most notably the elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Smoking and Health (OSH). Specifically, the report looks at the impact of these cuts on state programs, which receive federal funding from OSH, to prevent tobacco use among youth and help people quit tobacco for good.

The new report, Lifesaving Programs to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use Go Up in Smoke, finds several states have dramatically cut programs aimed at tobacco control, prevention and helping people quit due to the loss of federal funding. This includes funding to state tobacco quitlines, a free service that provides counseling by phone and in some cases by text to help tobacco users quit, and for programs proven to help educate youth on the dangers of tobacco use. 

“Halting funding for tobacco prevention and quitting programs will lead to more healthcare costs and lives lost. Over the last 50 years, we have made incredible strides as a country to reduce cigarette smoking, and over the past five years, we have seen a 70% reduction in youth vaping. This is in part because of proven effective programs to educate people about the health impacts and help them quit for good. Unfortunately, we aren’t done yet. Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. and takes the lives of 490,000 of our family members, friends and neighbors each year,” said Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “The cuts to the tobacco prevention programs are devastating, and we are already seeing the impacts on people across the U.S. On World No Tobacco Day, the American Lung Association calls on Congress to restore funding for OSH and for the Trump administration to reverse these reckless cuts to the country’s tobacco prevention and quitting activities.”

The report details specific impacts from federal funding cuts, including:

• The 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey that measures youth use of tobacco products was pulled from the field early; in general, the continued existence of the survey, which helped us track the youth vaping epidemic, is up in the air.
• The Virginia state tobacco quitline will be shut down and all other efforts to help tobacco users quit will stop unless the state legislature is able to act.
• The Raze program in West Virginia and The Tobacco Free Rhode Island Network in Rhode Island that worked with youth in schools to help prevent their peers from starting to use tobacco products will end.

View the full report here.

Despite these federal funding cuts, the Lung Association will continue its lifesaving work in communities across the U.S. to prevent and reduce tobacco use. To learn more, visit Lung.org/tobacco, and to support our efforts, visit Lung.org/donate.