Kansas Highlights

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

The Kansas Legislature adjourned the 2024 legislative session upon conclusion of their veto session on April 30, 2024. The legislature met for the second year of their biennium and considered legislation introduced in 2023 as well as 2024.

House Bill 2622 was introduced in February of the 2024 legislative session. The legislation sought to amend the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act, passed in 2010. That law already prohibits indoor smoking in most public places, however the law provides an exemption for the state’s four commercial casinos. Working with the Casino, Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) the American Lung Association worked to pass HB 2622. It received a hearing in the House Committee on Health and Human Services for initial review. The Lung Association provided testimony. The Chair of the Health and Human Service Committee did not call for a vote on HB 2622 and the bill died in Committee.

House Bill 2801 proposed an e-cigarette registry in Kansas. Similar bills were brought forward in other states as well. HB 2801 received a hearing in the Committee on Federal and State Affairs, however it did not receive a vote and also died in Committee.

Kansas was part of the 34-state settlement with Juul over its efforts to market tobacco products to youth. In 2024, the American Lung Association joined with other partners and the state Department of Health and Environment to develop a Juul Settlement Action Plan for the deployment of the first payment of nearly $1 million of the total $9.9 million Kansas expects to receive. The funds will be used to enhance federal and state funding for tobacco control and prevention activities. The funds will be allocated to the six priority areas outlined in the action plan.

When the 2025 Kansas Legislature convenes for a new session, the American Lung Association in Kansas will continue to work with partners to remove the casino exemption in the state’s Indoor Clean Air Act. The Lung Association will also continue to advocate to maintain the current level of funding for tobacco control and prevention activities in the state while also ensuring that all future payments of the Juul settlement be specifically directed to tobacco control and prevention activities. Further, we anticipate ongoing efforts by the tobacco industry and its allies to pass preemptive legislation that stops local communities from passing stronger tobacco prevention policies in the 2025 legislative session. We will continue to work against these policies to preserve local control protecting the ability of cities and counties to establish tobacco control policies for their communities.