Delaware Highlights

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in Delaware. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by Delaware’s elected officials:

The 2023 legislative session was the first year of the 152nd General Assembly of Delaware’s two-year session. In 2023, the American Lung Association in Delaware along with other public health partners were successful in maintaining the increase in critical funding for tobacco prevention and cessation.

During the 2023 session a bill which would decrease the tax rate on “premium” cigars from 30% to 20% of the wholesale price was re-introduced. This reduction would undermine Delaware’s comprehensive tax strategy that was passed in 2017 which attempted to create some parity among tobacco products. The Lung Association and its partners focused on protecting Delaware’s tobacco tax structure and opposed this bill as an attempt to undermine it. The bill was not addressed during the 2023 session but will be carried over into the 2024 session and will be a priority for the Lung Association.

Another important tool in fighting tobacco use in Delaware is much needed funding for tobacco prevention and cessation. The Delaware Health Fund is where tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) dollars received by the state have been directed since within the first few years after the MSA was negotiated. Delaware has been one of the few states to largely keep promises made at the time and use the money for health-related purposes. Total tobacco prevention and cessation funding, which comes from this fund, reflected a $2.5 million sustained increase due to advocacy from the Lung Association at approximately $9.6 million in fiscal year 2024. However, this amount of funding is still lower than historical levels and below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended level. The Lung Association believes funding for this vital program needs to continue to be increased especially considering the continued high youth use of electronic cigarettes.

The American Lung Association in Delaware will continue to educate lawmakers and identify champions in the ongoing fight against tobacco. Our goal is to build champions within the legislature and at the grassroots level to advance our goals which include protecting the current tobacco tax structure in place by opposing any attempts to roll back taxes on specific products and protect the much-needed increased funding for tobacco prevention and control programs.