Florida Highlights
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Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in Florida. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by Florida's elected officials:
- Ensure access to comprehensive quit tobacco coverage with no barriers to care for Medicaid recipients;
- Reinstate local control of the marketing, sale and delivery of tobacco and nicotine products to local government; and
- Institute strong regulation and licensing of all tobacco retailers, including electronic cigarette retailers, with annual compliance and enforcement.
There was significant debate between big tobacco companies and the smaller companies within the vaping industry. House Bill 1007 evolved through the committee process and was significantly amended prior to final passage. The final piece of legislation requires the creation of a directory of e-cigarette products that are “attractive to minors” with an exemption for open-ended system e-cigarettes. Products that are listed on the directory would be marked as illegal to be sold in Florida. The legislation passed both Chambers and has become law.
Senator Gruters sponsored Senate Bill 1588 to establish heated tobacco products as a new category of tobacco products. The legislation was only heard in one committee before dying when the legislative session adjourned. If passed, it would have exempted heated tobacco products from taxes and other tobacco control regulations.
The American Lung Association was able to protect funding for Tobacco Free Florida and ensure the total Fiscal Year 2025 program budget of $87,386,521. Funding will continue to be dedicated to tackling the youth e-cigarette epidemic. The Tobacco Free Florida program is committed to providing a variety of free services to assist individuals with smoking cessation. In addition to the $11 million allocated for Quitline services, the program dedicates an additional $9.5 million for in-person cessation counseling.
In 2025, the American Lung Association will advocate for coverage of comprehensive cessation benefits for Medicaid recipients. The Lung Association will continue to advocate for local control of tobacco prevention and control policies to ensure that communities can respond to the needs of their community through policy change. The Lung Association will also continue to educate on the need to enact a comprehensive tobacco retail licensing program that includes e-cigarette retailers focused on strong regulation with an annual licensing fee for all retailers, annual compliance checks and enforcement.
Florida Facts |
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Healthcare Costs Due to Smoking: | $8,643,645,763 |
Adult Smoking Rate: | 10.50% |
Adult Tobacco Use Rate: | 17.00% |
High School Smoking Rate: | 1.70% |
High School Tobacco Use Rate: | 14.80% |
Middle School Smoking Rate: | 0.80% |
Smoking Attributable Deaths per Year: | 32,300 |
Adult smoking and tobacco use data come from CDC’s 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; adult tobacco use includes cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. High school smoking and tobacco use and middle school smoking data come from the 2023 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey.
Health impact information is taken from the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking-attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking-attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.
Health impact information is taken from the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking-attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking-attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.
Florida Information
Learn more about your state specific legislation regarding efforts towards effective Tobacco Control.