According to the American Lung Association’s (ALA) 2019 "State of Tobacco Control" report released today, states and the federal government have failed to take meaningful action in putting in place policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use, the nation's leading cause of preventable death and disease. In addition, youth use of e-cigarettes has reached epidemic levels — rising 78 percent from 2017 to 2018 — setting the stage for another generation of Americans addicted to tobacco products and ultimately more tobacco-caused death and disease.
The ALA's annual "State of Tobacco Control" report grades states and the federal government on steps taken to enact proven effective tobacco control policies. An estimated 480,000 deaths are caused by tobacco use every year, and 27.1 percent of high school students used at least one tobacco product in 2018, up dramatically from 19.6 percent in 2017. Within this context, "State of Tobacco Control" 2019 sounds the alarm and calls for the federal government and states to take urgent action to reduce and prevent tobacco use.