New York keeps failing on anti-tobacco funding

Like a deluded smoker pretending to quit, New York State is deceiving itself about its anti-tobacco efforts.

Make no mistake — tobacco use among the state’s youth is the lowest ever recorded since data was first tracked in 2000. Even e-cigarette use has dropped, but the threat remains. About 1 in 6 high school students reported having used a tobacco product, most likely a vape.

With positive results in hand, why would New York State continue to drastically underfund programs that save lives?

The American Lung Association last week gave New York an “F” for funding tobacco prevention programs, the same grade it has given the state since 2018. The state receives $1.51 billion every year from tobacco-related revenue and spends just $42 million on tobacco control programs, the group says. That’s less than 3%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that New York spend $203 million annually, but the state musters just 20.8% of that each year. Since 1998, when New York joined 52 states and territories in signing a master settlement with Big Tobacco, Albany has used most of its money not to help people quit smoking but to plug budget holes.

Part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget calls for tax parity for nicotine pouches. If adopted, nicotine pouches would be taxed at 75% of wholesale price, the same as cigarettes, a hike projected to generate an additional $54 million annually. That’s a great step in the right direction to achieving tax parity among tobacco products, as a higher price can deter harmful behavior. But can the state be trusted to spend even most of that new tax windfall on antismoking efforts?

The state’s Quitline, a hotline that has helped people kick nicotine, is underfunded and understaffed. In 2025 alone, almost 38,000 people enrolled for help through the hotline. Nassau and Suffolk counties combined accounted for more than 12% — a total of 4,814 enrollees.

Inside those numbers is an opportunity to reach more people. Of the 37,884 enrollees last year, 76% were white people, and just 4.7% were under 25 years old. And the state’s DropTheVape campaign saw just 786 people enroll in 2025, which is especially troubling knowing that young people vape and use e-cigarettes much more than traditional cigarettes.

Spending money on antismoking campaigns and cessation programs saves lives and money. New York estimates it saved 41,700 lives and $13.2 billion in health care spending from 2001-2019 because of its Tobacco Control Program.

But underfunding threatens helplines being available 24/7, and could lead to less face-to-face outreach to teach kids about the danger of tobacco, as well as fewer unsettling ads that show the true health impact of tobacco. New York lawmakers must increase spending, especially for staff, education and cessation programs, especially when the state finds that too many young people are vulnerable.

New York lawmakers can’t relent against the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the state.