Tobacco Control

Topic Summary

Despite the widespread adoption of strengthened tobacco control policies in recent decades, the combination of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States.

In response to the overwhelming evidence revealing the lethal effects of tobacco, states and municipalities have enacted laws that restrict the sale and marketing of tobacco products. Dozens of states and hundreds of municipalities, representing nearly 50 percent of the nation’s population, have eliminated smoking in indoor workplaces, restaurants and bars. In 2009, historic federal legislation gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. Tobacco control law continues to evolve as new laws are created, old laws are amended and courts interpret existing laws.

Primary Legal Issues

Tobacco control continues to involve issues related to smoke-free policies, taxation, sales and marketing, product regulation, enforcement, youth access and workplace policies. In addition, federal, state and local laws continue to interact in ways that affect the development, enactment and implementation of tobacco-control policies.

Technical Assistance Capacity

An organization in the Network, the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, collaborates with local, state and national partners to help improve the nation’s tobacco control policies. This work includes providing technical assistance on all of the tobacco issues listed above, from smoke-free policies to product regulation.

The Network can provide legal technical assistance in many ways, including responding to individual requests from public health professionals, attorneys, policy-makers, state and community coalitions and others grappling with the issues above. Technical assistance includes litigation support to city and county attorneys, state attorneys general and legal counsel representing advocacy organizations, and individual citizens defending smoke-free laws and other critical tobacco-control policies. The Network is also well-equipped to prepare friend-of-the-court legal briefs, often alongside the nation’s leading health organizations, for key appellate cases. Finally, technical assistance also includes the development of model policies, cutting-edge policy research and work to anticipate emerging legal issues with the potential to affect public health practice. The Network also offers access to a wealth of publications and educational materials and opportunities for regular training at conferences, via webinars and through other venues.

For legal technical assistance and support on tobacco control or any of the public health topics, please contact your region. Your region will connect you with the appropriate expert based on your request.

Resources and Publications

The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium provides a wealth of resources and publications on tobacco control. Descriptions and direct links to the Consortium’s most commonly used resources include:

  • Federal Regulation of Tobacco Collection. On June 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This Act gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comprehensive authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products. For help in understanding this federal tobacco legislation, as well as new opportunities for state and local governments under the law, check out the Consortium’s collection of resources.
  • Product Regulation. Under the new federal tobacco legislation, the FDA has broad authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products.  State and local governments also have expanded authority to regulate tobacco products in areas such as advertising.  This section contains information on several tobacco products that are candidates for regulation.
  • Smoking Regulation. Secondhand smoke endangers people’s lives.  Medical experts have found that exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately 46,000 heart disease deaths and 3,400 lung cancer deaths each year among adult nonsmokers in the U.S. This section contains background information and resources on smoke-free laws in various indoor and outdoor venues.
  • Tobacco Control Litigation. This section presents information about lawsuits filed on key tobacco issues in the past and present.  Access these resources to learn about the use of litigation in tobacco control.