The American Lung Association's 24th Annual State of Tobacco Control Report grades states and the federal government on policies and laws designed to protect the public from harmful tobacco use in 5 categories: prevention & cessation funding, smoke-free air, tobacco taxes, access to cessation services, and regulation of flavored tobacco products that put our youth at risk of addiction. Florida's grades on the ALA's 2026 report, released on January 27, 2026, show that our state must step up efforts to reduce tobacco use to protect our communities.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and diseases having claimed more than 490,000 lives in the U.S. and 32,300 Florida residents each year. Major strides in smoking prevention have been achieved in recent years - rates for adults smoking dropped from 23% in 2000 to 10.5% in 2023 and youth tobacco use has reached at its lowest level in 25 years - but vaping tobacco in schools is still a significant concern. Statistics show that more than 2 million middle and high school students surveyed still use tobacco, including e-cigarettes.
In the report, Federal Government received grades of D (in regulation of tobacco products and coverage of treatment to help people quit smoking) - and B (in funds for tobacco prevention/control). Pending reductions in funding could negatively impact efforts to reduce tobacco use.
Florida is doing better than other states when it comes to reducing tobacco use, according to the American Lung Association. The Sunshine State received grades of C (smoke-free air and access to cessation services) and F (prevention/cessation funding, tobacco taxes, inadequate regulation of flavored tobacco products). Grades are almost the same as last year, other than rising from D to C in improvement in access to cessation services. Lawmakers were commended for efforts to allocate funds to Tobacco Free Florida, the state's tobacco control program, which does a good job with the funds given.
To keep tobacco control progress heading in the right direction, the American Lung Association Reports suggests implementing public policies like raising taxes on tobacco products, expanding smoke-free workplace laws, reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes, and ending the sale of flavored tobacco products.
Clearly there's still work to do! Talk to your kids about the dangers of tobacco use ðŸš
Read about Florida's Grades in the
State of Tobacco Control's 2026 report card:
https://www.lung.org/research/sotc/state-grades/florida
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