Tobacco Cessation

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., making it critically important that prevention and cessation programs are available to help people break their tobacco addiction for good. The American Lung Association supports funding for federal, state and local programs that help tobacco users quit and prevent kids and adults from starting to use tobacco.

We also support policies that give tobacco users easy access to all treatments proven effective to help them quit. Medicaid expansion and most private health insurance plans are required to cover a comprehensive tobacco cessation benefit for plan members, including all seven medications and three types of counseling recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service. To help smokers quit, the Lung Association encourages all health plans to cover a comprehensive, barrier-free cessation benefit.

The Lung Association is a leader in the area of tobacco cessation policy at the federal, state and local levels. Since 2007, our Tobacco Cessation Policy Project has provided up-to-date information and tools for advocates, policymakers, media and tobacco users and their families.

In 2019, the American Lung Association was awarded two grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide technical assistance to states and the tobacco control community on tobacco cessation coverage policy and health systems change.