Virginia Highlights

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

During the 2025 legislative session, the Lung Association and public health partners successfully advocated for the passage of House Bill 1639 a bill that would repeal Virginia's tobacco surcharge permanently, however the bill was vetoed by the Governor. Tobacco surcharges are increased rates that health insurers are allowed to charge participants who use tobacco. Tobacco surcharges have not been proven effective in encouraging smokers to quit and can cause tobacco users to opt out of health coverage all together.

Repealing the surcharge is an integral component in ensuring that people can get the assistance they need to help them quit and end their addiction to nicotine. In 2023, the bill to repeal the surcharge passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed by Governor Youngkin. However, the bill included a provision that the repeal would expire in 2026. The Lung Association supported House Bill 1639 and will continue to work with champions in the 2026 session to permanently repeal the tobacco surcharge.

2025 also highlighted the need for Virginia to have dedicated funding for tobacco prevention and cessation efforts by the Virginia Department of Health. The Department's funding for efforts in the Commonwealth relies solely on federal funding and is woefully below the CDC's recommended funding level of $91.6 million. Amid uncertainty around the future federal tobacco and prevention funding through the CDC, VDH needs dedicated funding in order to continue to do their work without risk of interruption including operating the Quitline which provides invaluable phone counseling support to Virginians who want to quit using a tobacco product.

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly using MSA funding, has a mission that empowers Virginia's youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing tobacco and nicotine use, substance use and childhood obesity. VFHY has used this funding to conduct sustained prevention messaging, which includes award-winning and fully evaluated marketing campaigns to children annually.

The American Lung Association in Virginia will continue to educate lawmakers on the ongoing fight against tobacco. Our goal is to build new champions within the legislature and a grassroots advocacy network to advance our goals of securing dedicated funding for tobacco control and prevention efforts by the Virginia Department of Health and repealing the tobacco surcharge permanently.