Washington Highlights

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

Washington’s 2024 Legislative Session saw several bills introduced that lacked broad public health support. Senate Bill 6118 proposed the creation of a directory for vapor products based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration pre-market tobacco application status. Similar legislation was introduced in over 20 states around the nation and was pushed by industry giants Altria and JUUL. The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce and died at the fiscal cut off. Acknowledgement of the enforcement challenges and conflicts between small manufacturers and large industry contributed to the bill’s demise.

House Bill 1922 would have established a grant program for the purchase and installation of vape detectors in public schools. The bill passed out of the House Committee on Education and died at the fiscal cut off. HB 1922’s introduction demonstrated many legislators acknowledge youth vaping in schools is a concerning issue and provides an opportunity for the American Lung Association and others to provide evidence-based solutions to reduce youth use of these addicting products.

One bill, House Bill 2181 received unanimous support on the House Floor. HB 2181 proposed creating a data dashboard to track the use of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol. This legislation was supported and pushed by the cannabis industry and died at the policy cut off in the Senate.

House Bill 2181 proposed reducing the tax on pipe tobacco and Senate Bill 5239 proposed regulating flavors and nicotine levels in tobacco products. Neither of these bills received a hearing.

One small victory was a one-time appropriation of $500,000 for the state tobacco prevention program. Though this small appropriation was disappointing, the American Lung Association and others will continue to provide education to elected officials for the need for additional funding to reduce tobacco use in Washington. Through our engagement with Washington Breathes, a statewide coalition working to eliminate the harmful use of commercial tobacco and other nicotine products, we continue to grow supporters who can provide this education to elected officials.

The American Lung Association is a proud coalition partner of Flavors Hook Kids Washington, a coalition dedicated to supporting efforts to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products in our state. This campaign held a successful kick off in September 2024 and continues to grow as a coalition with state legislation expected to be introduced in 2025.