American Lung Association Gives West Virginia Poor Grades for Efforts to Prevent Tobacco Use

According to the American Lung Association’s 24th annual “State of Tobacco Control” report, released today, West Virginia’s grades show that the state must step up efforts to reduce tobacco use to protect communities. West Virginia’s action on tobacco control and prevention is especially critical due to the dramatic rollback of federal tobacco prevention efforts in 2025.

Tobacco use remains the nation’s leading cause of preventable death and disease, claiming the lives of more than 4,280 state residents each year. The report urges West Virginia lawmakers to focus on restoring funding for tobacco prevention and quit smoking programs to curb tobacco use.

The “State of Tobacco Control” report grades states and the District of Columbia in five areas that have been proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use and save lives. In the 2026 report, West Virginia received the following grades:

Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs – Grade F

Strength of Smokefree Workplace Laws – Grade D*

Level of State Tobacco Taxes – Grade F

Coverage and Access to Services to Quit Tobacco – Grade D

Ending the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products – Grade F

* West Virginia has 59.6% of the state’s population covered by comprehensive local smokefree workplace regulations. If a state has more than 50% of its population covered by local smokefree ordinances/regulations, the state is graded based on population covered by those local ordinances/regulations rather than the statewide law.

In 2025, the tobacco control and prevention landscape fundamentally changed when the administration took a series of actions that weakened enforcement and jeopardized public health efforts across the country. These included the virtual elimination of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health, major staffing cuts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products and delaying Congressionally appropriated funding for nearly six months. As a result, tobacco control and quitline programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia were left at risk of shutting down, with some states drastically reducing lifesaving services.

“It is devastating to see the federal government largely abandon its tobacco control efforts. Walking away from the incredible progress the nation has made on reducing tobacco use over the past 50 years is unacceptable,” said Elizabeth Hensil, Director of Advocacy at the American Lung Association in West Virginia. “States need to ramp up their tobacco prevention efforts even more to protect residents from disease and addiction caused by tobacco use.”

In 2026, policymakers in West Virginia must focus on restoring funding for tobacco prevention and quit smoking programs to align with CDC recommended levels; preserving local control of smokefree laws throughout the state; and enact a significant tax increase that brings all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to tax parity with cigarettes,” said Hensil.

Despite receiving $184,500,000 from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes, West Virginia only funds tobacco control efforts at 5.6% of the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Lung Association urges Governor Morrisey and the legislature to increase funding for tobacco prevention and quit smoking programs.

In 2025 Raze, a West Virginia youth tobacco advocacy program that was launched in 2001, was forced to shut down due to federal budget cuts, leaving thousands of our youth without that program support. One of the teens directly affected by the loss of Raze, Breanna Cutright, an 18-year-old high school senior in Clarksburg, said “When Raze shut down this year, it felt like the floor dropped out from under us. In a state where kids grow up surrounded by tobacco use and the industry spends millons of dollars into marketing aimed at us, programs like Raze were the only place we could hear the truth from people our own age. Now, an entire generation is subjected to the Big Tobacco industry targeting their products and messaging to us without any real resources. If policymakers don’t restore funding and strengthen tobacco control, we’re going to continue to expose a new generation to a lifetime of addiction.”

In the “State of Tobacco Control” report, the American Lung Association calls on the federal government to fully restore critical tobacco control programs, including CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. Federal leadership is essential. In the current absence of federal leadership, the organization is calling on state legislatures to advance strong, fact-based tobacco control policies that protect communities and reduce tobacco use.

To learn more about this year’s “State of Tobacco Control” grades and take action, visit Lung.org/sotc.

State grades in “State of Tobacco Control” reflect actions taken by elected officials and do not reflect on the hard work of state tobacco control programs or advocates.