DOVER, DE — Delaware earned high marks in several tobacco control categories but fell short in key areas that health advocates say are costing lives, according to the American Lung Association’s newly released 2026 State of Tobacco Control report.
The report warns that Delaware must raise taxes on tobacco products and ban flavored tobacco to further reduce tobacco use, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the state. More than 1,440 Delaware residents die each year from tobacco-related disease, the Lung Association said.
In the 24th annual assessment, Delaware received A grades for funding state tobacco prevention programs, the strength of smokefree workplace laws, and coverage and access to services that help people quit tobacco. However, the state earned a D for the level of state tobacco taxes and an F for failing to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products.
Health advocates say those weak spots have taken on greater urgency following a sharp rollback of federal tobacco prevention efforts in 2025. That shift included the virtual elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health, major staffing cuts at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, and months-long delays in Congressionally approved funding. The changes left quitline and tobacco control programs in all 50 states at risk, with some states forced to reduce or suspend services.
“It is devastating to see the federal government largely abandon its tobacco control efforts,” said Deb Brown, chief mission officer of the American Lung Association. She said decades of progress in reducing tobacco use are now in jeopardy and warned that states must take stronger action to protect public health.
The report urges Delaware lawmakers to increase the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack to create greater parity between cigarettes and other tobacco products, a move outlined in House Bill 215. Increasing taxes on all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, particularly among young people. Studies cited by the Lung Association show that every 10% increase in cigarette prices reduces consumption by about 4% among adults and 7% among youth.
Despite receiving $111,800,000 from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes, Delaware funds tobacco prevention and control programs at 84.1% of the level recommended by the CDC, according to the report. The Lung Association is urging Gov. Matt Meyer and the General Assembly to preserve funding for prevention and quit-smoking programs while advancing stronger tax and flavor policies.
The report also graded federal tobacco control efforts, giving the federal government Ds for regulation of tobacco products and coverage of quit-smoking treatments, an F for federal tobacco taxes, and a B for federal funding of tobacco prevention and control. Federal mass media campaigns received an “Incomplete” grade due to a lack of available data.
The Lung Association said restoring federal leadership is critical but emphasized that, in the meantime, states like Delaware must move forward with evidence-based policies to reduce tobacco use and prevent avoidable deaths.
More information about the State of Tobacco Control report is available at Lung.org/sotc.
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