Louisiana Highlights

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

The 2025 Louisiana legislative session was eventful. House Bill 325 imposed a tax cut on premium cigars. The Lung Association advocated strongly against the legislation but was ultimately unsuccessful.

House Bill 412 allows synthetic nicotine products to be sold in Louisiana in accordance with the e-cigarette directory passed in 2023. The bill was amended in committee to increase tobacco retail license fees and forbid the sale of vapor and alternative nicotine products directly to the consumer via mail or the internet. The Lung Association supported the aspects of the bill that promoted increased tobacco control and prevention but the bill was ultimately amended to remove the positive provisions and approved by the legislature.

House Bills 398 and 517 were sponsored by champion Ken Brass who worked with the Lung Association and partners within the Tobacco-Free Louisiana Coalition. Both bills dealt with increasing taxes on vapor and alternative nicotine products and a dedication of those funds to proven cessation and control programs already working in Louisiana. Unfortunately, both bills failed to make it through the legislative process. However, Representative Brass introduced House Resolution 374, which created the Youth Tobacco and Nicotine Cessation Task Force to study the effects and impacts of nicotine use by persons under 21 years of age and to recommend policy solutions to the nicotine epidemic in Louisiana.

The influence of the tobacco industry was very apparent in many of the bills during the 2025 legislative session, especially House Bill 669. The bill would have defined heat-not-burn tobacco products and reduced the tax on them by 33% before they even were sold on the market. Thankfully, at the last moment, a Senate floor amendment, supported by the Lung Association and partners, stripped the bill of its tax cut and now allows the products to be sold in Louisiana under our current cigarette tax.

There continues to be support within local municipalities for public health protections from secondhand smoke. The towns of Winnfield and Gibson passed comprehensive smokefree air ordinances since our last State of Tobacco Control report. Bar workers in these communities are now protected from the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure.

In 2026, the American Lung Association will join our tobacco control partners to educate state legislators about the health and economic benefits of strong tobacco control policies, including well-funded tobacco prevention and control programs. The Lung Association will also continue to work with partners in the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Louisiana to ensure successful passage and preservation of comprehensive local smokefree ordinances.