Tennessee Highlights

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

In response to the request of the General Assembly and strongly supported by the Lung Association and its partner organizations, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) conducted a youth vaping study in September 2024. The study will help inform the direction of myriad policies related to nicotine products in upcoming sessions of the legislature.

TACIR inquiries included information on the initiation of vapor product usage, the prevalence of vaping, demographic and use trends, health outcomes, enforcement of underage sales, best practices to address usage on school grounds, taxation, and access to cessation products and services. The Lung Association provided extensive background and information in preparation for the hearing and its resources and programs were specifically highlighted during the commission’s discussion.

Separately, in an April 2024 communication, the Tennessee Department of Health confirmed state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s intent to direct JUUL settlement funds as follows: $1.6 million per year for five years for a youth tobacco vaping prevention program and $1 million per year for three to five years (pending evaluation of success in the third year) to expand the mission of the state Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program. The Lung Association and partner organizations strongly advocated in support of this action. Formalizing this commitment may require legislation directing the funds to the Department of Health in the 2025 session.

It is the department’s intent that the five-year commitment would fund a youth tobacco vaping prevention program that expands the TNSTRONG youth program and summit, including increasing training and outreach partnerships, expanding regional positive youth development trainings, providing TNSTRONG Ambassador scholarships, creating a TNSTRONG Ambassador Alumni program to target higher education, conducting parent education, expanding grants to increase the number of smokefree schools, and expanding grants for youth-focused cessation and intervention education. Subsequent funding would expand the mission of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program (TUPCP), which uses evidence-based strategies to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disease. The Lung Association and partner organizations were also successful in 2024 in defeating an industry-led proposal that would have created preferential tax treatment for certain nicotine products.

In 2025, the American Lung Association and its partners will continue working to close loopholes in the state’s smokefree law. The Lung Association will also continue its efforts to educate policymakers, business leaders and media on the importance of the Lung Association’s goals to prevent and reduce all tobacco use, including e-cigarettes, and to protect public health.