Texas Highlights

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

The top priority for the session was to build on 2023's success and continue to increase funding for the Department of State Health Services tobacco prevention and control programs, which saw a $2.5 million annual increase in 2023. While the final 2025 budget included 2023's increase, the legislature declined to include the health agency's request for additional funding. The nearly six-month delay in receiving federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health severely disrupted the operations of the Texas tobacco prevention and control program. One casualty was three community coalition grants to work locally on tobacco prevention. These community coalitions have a proven track record of bringing together stakeholders from across the community to work collaboratively to reduce tobacco use.

Three new laws from the legislative session include Senate Bill 1313 and Senate Bill 1316, which restrict the advertising of e-cigarettes, including images clearly aimed at kids and advertising within 1,000 feet of churches and schools. Senate Bill 2024 also became law, which prohibits the sale of a multitude of e-cigarette products, including those that look like school or office supplies, those that contain intoxicating substances and any e-cigarette that contains liquid manufactured in countries designated as foreign adversaries, including China. While none of these bills contained funding for enforcement and compliance, the Lung Association will be carefully observing their impact in retailers across the state.

There were several missed opportunities, with bills failing to advance that would have prohibited the sale of any tobacco or e-cigarette product within 1,000 feet of a school or church, and tax e-cigarette and nicotine products at the same rate as other tobacco products. Following a lawsuit by the tobacco industry, the state's supreme court is currently deciding whether products with non-tobacco derived nicotine can be exempted from the state's tobacco tax laws. The tobacco industry continues to work to undermine Texas tobacco laws and push unproven ideas which distract from proven tobacco control policies.

Since the Texas Legislature is not scheduled to meet until 2027, the American Lung Association and partners will be closely monitoring the impact of the 2025 session. The continuation of federal funding past 2026 is uncertain, which could leave the state's already meager tobacco control budget with fewer resources to help prevent youth tobacco use and help tobacco users quit. The effectiveness of new laws without dedicated funding for enforcement remains unclear. The Lung Association continues to work to support local communities that, absent stronger state laws, continue to try to address the proliferation of e-cigarette and tobacco use through various zoning and retail density laws.