The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund has focused its state policy work primarily in three areas:
- Smoke-free workplace laws – Did you know that there were over 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke including at least 69 known carcinogens, and that recent studies have prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend that people with heart disease avoid indoor places where smoking is permitted because it can increase the risk of heart attacks? It’s true. That’s why so many cities and states across the country are passing smoke-free laws, which protect non-smokers’ health and have been proven time and time again not to hurt business in restaurants and bars.
- Higher tobacco taxes - Increasing tobacco taxes is one of the best ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids and pregnant women. It’s also a great way for states to raise money to pay for health care costs caused by tobacco and fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
- Tobacco prevention and cessation programs – Sadly, only a handful of states are spending enough on protecting our kids from smoking and helping smokers quit. Only four states currently meet the CDC's minimum recommendations for funding such programs. The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund has focused its efforts largely in supporting statewide ballot measures that allocate funds generated by new tobacco taxes to tobacco prevention and/or cessation.
If you’d like to help with these campaigns, please make a donation to the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.