Idaho Highlights

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

Approximately 50% of Idaho legislators were new in the 2023 Session. During 2023, tobacco prevention partners focused on educating new legislators about the impact of commercial tobacco use and addiction in Idaho and the policies, programs, and funding mechanisms that reduce the health impacts of commercial tobacco use.

During the 2023 legislative session, the Joint Legislative Millennium Fund Committee, which is responsible for recommending how tobacco settlement money is allocated in the State of Idaho budget, articulated its intent to direct its future funding recommendations to support programs and projects that focus on tobacco and other substance use prevention and cessation programs, especially for youth.

Also in 2023, the Idaho Legislature considered proposed legislation that would have included e-cigarettes and other emerging products in Idaho’s tobacco taxes. While House Bill 331 did not include all components we would recommend in a strong tobacco tax policy, it demonstrated support for increasing tobacco taxes for the first time since the introduction of e-cigarettes into the local marketplace.

The State of Idaho’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, Project Filter, housed within the Department of Health and Welfare, conducts tobacco prevention and control activities that prevent youth and young adult commercial tobacco use, eliminates exposure to secondhand smoke, promotes quitting among youth and adults, and identifies and eliminates health disparities. Project Filter’s activities prioritize three populations: people with behavioral health conditions, rural Idahoans disproportionately impacted by tobacco use, and youth and young adults to prevent initiation of tobacco and nicotine products.

We applaud the Joint Legislative Millennium Fund Committee’s commitment to reducing youth tobacco use. During the 2024 legislative session, in collaboration with our tobacco prevention partners, we will work with Committee members to expand investment in a comprehensive suite of evidence-based programs and policy changes. These changes will keep youth from picking up their first nicotine product, support youth and adults in their quitting efforts, and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol statewide.

Action is needed to reduce youth access to tobacco and e-cigarette products and create parity between electronic cigarettes and commercial tobacco products, including taxing electronic devices equivalent to commercial tobacco products. Similarly, work is needed to set the tobacco retail licensure fee at a level that supports required enforcement checks. The American Lung Association in Idaho will continue to work with partners in 2024 towards these goals and to support local communities in passing policies that protect residents from the negative effects of tobacco and e-cigarette use and from breathing secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol.