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:

During 2024, tobacco prevention partners educated legislators about the impact of commercial tobacco use and addiction in Idaho and the policies and programs that reduce the health impacts of tobacco use. The Joint Legislative Millennium Fund Committee, which is responsible for recommending how tobacco settlement money is allocated in the State of Idaho budget, focused their funding recommendations on programs and projects meant to reduce youth tobacco use and broader substance use as well as on funding related to “the overall health and wellbeing of Idaho youth.” Tobacco control partners advanced conversations about the importance of increasing tobacco taxes and educated lawmakers about how tobacco retail licensure can support efforts that keep tobacco products out of youth hands. Unfortunately, no legislation to implement either policy advanced.

Idaho’s 2024 legislative session saw increased activity from the tobacco industry as they worked to establish a nicotine vapor product “registry” in Idaho based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration premarket tobacco application status, a tobacco industry priority. Similar proposals have been advanced in many states by major tobacco companies to reduce competition from smaller e-cigarette companies.

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 tobacco use, eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, promote quitting among youth and adults, and eliminate health disparities. Project Filter’s activities prioritize people with behavioral health conditions, rural Idahoans disproportionately impacted by tobacco use, and youth and young adults to prevent tobacco use.

During the 2025 legislative session, action is needed to reduce youth access to tobacco and nicotine products and to create parity between electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products, including taxing electronic devices equivalent to cigarettes and other tobacco products. Similarly, work is needed to set the tobacco retail licensure fee at a level that supports required enforcement checks. The Lung Association will continue to work with partners in 2025 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. Our defense against tobacco industry led regulatory efforts will continue in 2025 as we provide information and education to a newly formed legislative workgroup established to make recommendations regarding e-cigarette policies.