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:
- Support and defend local comprehensive smokefree laws, including e-cigarettes;
- Repeal state preemption of local tobacco control authority;
- Increase funding for the Tennessee Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program to $4 million and ensure that funding is spent according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs.
While smoking is currently prohibited statewide in places such as schools, retail stores and government workplaces, the law has several exceptions that limit its effectiveness. For example, smoking is allowed in restaurants and bars that do not admit persons under age 21.
Legislation to address these issues – repealing preemption and allowing local governments to pass ordinances creating smokefree venues, including e-cigarettes – moved forward during the 2021 session, but was ultimately rolled forward to be debated again in the 2022 session of the legislature. The Lung Association and our partner health organizations will continue our work to secure passage in 2022. However, a different bill was approved in 2021 that added e-cigarettes to Tennessee's existing smokefree protections, but also preempted local communities from going further on regulating e-cigarette use.
A 2019 Tennessee Tobacco and Vape Policy Poll found that 78% of voters strongly favor smokefree workplaces. The poll also found that eight in 10 voters favor dedicating the state's tobacco revenue funds to tobacco prevention.
On a related issue, the budget passed by the legislature in 2021 included $2 million for the Tennessee Tobacco Use and Control Program. Significantly, this was made a recurring line-item year-to-year, thereby reducing the chances that program funding would be eliminated in future state budgets, as has occurred historically. Funding disruptions create uncertainties for appropriate planning and waste resources as program managers face challenges ramping up the program over and over again.
Also anticipated in the upcoming session is a discussion about requiring tobacco retail outlets to obtain licenses to sell tobacco products. The Lung Association strongly supports tobacco retail licensing as an effective tool to help agencies enforce laws prohibiting the sale of these products to those under the age of 21.
As the legislature begins its work in 2022, the Lung Association will continue its efforts to educate policymakers, business leaders and media on the importance of the American Lung Association's goals to reduce all tobacco use, including e-cigarettes, and to protect public health. The Lung Association will also continue working with our health coalition partners and others to grow and activate our grassroots network statewide, and to advance tobacco control and prevention initiatives at the state and local levels.
Tennessee Facts |
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|---|---|
| Economic Cost Due to Smoking: | $2,672,824,085 |
| Adult Smoking Rate: | 19.5% |
| High School Smoking Rate: | 7.1% |
| High School Tobacco Use Rate: | 27.9% |
| Middle School Smoking Rate: | N/A |
| Smoking Attributable Deaths per Year: | 11,380 |
Adult smoking data come from CDC's 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. High school smoking and tobacco use rates are taken from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. A current middle school smoking rate is not available for this state.
Health impact information is taken from the Smoking Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.
Tennessee Information
Learn more about your state specific legislation regarding efforts towards effective Tobacco Control.
