Tobacco Use Prevention Control Program

May 13, 2022: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed six Connecticut Counties in the High/Orange category as part of its COVID-19 Community Levels Map. Only Fairfield and New London Counties are listed in the Medium/Yellow category. Residents in these counties should wear a mask indoors in public; stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if they have symptoms. Additional precautions may be needed for residents who are at high risk for severe illness. Visit the CDC COVID-19 Community Levels Map for updates.

Tobacco Control Program

Our Mission: To enhance the well-being of Connecticut's residents by promoting tobacco-free lifestyles and by educating communities about the economic and health costs and consequences of tobacco use.

Our program coordinates and assists state and local efforts to prevent people from starting to use tobacco, to help current tobacco users quit, and to reduce nonsmokers' exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke and aerosol. The single most important thing you can do for your health is to be tobacco-free.

Did You Know?

COVID-19 and smoking/vaping:
- Being a current or former cigarette smoker increases your risk of severe illness from COVID-19
  - Smoking and vaping both weaken the lungs and the immune system, making it harder for the body to fight off the disease.
  - COVID-19 targets people with compromised immune systems.
- Call your healthcare provider if you have concerns or feel sick.
- Now is a great time to quit.....Call 1-800-QUIT NOW, or visit https://CommitToQuitCT.com for more information on resources that are available free of charge for Connecticut residents.
  - Tobacco use cessation counseling, like that available from 1-800-QUIT-NOW, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications can double the chances of quitting smoking successfully.
  - If you used to smoke, do not start again!
  - If you've never smoked - don't start!
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
Electronic Delivery Systems (ENDS) come in many forms, and vaping is now the most common form of tobacco used by Connecticut high school youth.
There are more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. Hundreds of these chemicals are toxic and about 70 are known to cause cancer in humans and animals, and at least 250 in secondhand smoke have been shown to damage health. Carcinogens have also been found in secondhand aerosol produced by vaping.
Heart disease is the # 1 cause of death in the US and in Connecticut, and smoking is the #1 cause of heart disease.
Vaping was labeled an "epidemic" in 2018, and e-cigarette use in teens and young adults continues to increase.

Tobacco Statistics & Reports – Read tobacco statistics, reports, and fact sheets in Connecticut.

Fact Sheet: Vaping

YRBS 2019 Select Slides

New smoke- and vape-free air provisions take effect on 10/1/2021.

Expansions to the Clean Indoor Air Act for both smoking and vaping are summarized here.

Research Brief: Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Homes and Vehicles

Food and Drug Administration Authority (FDA) over Tobacco Products

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco. They oversee the manufacture, marketing and distribution of these tobacco products in order to protect public health and to reduce tobacco use by children and adolescents. The Center for Tobacco Products at FDA was created to oversee and enforce the Tobacco Control Act.

The rule contains provisions designed to limit youth access to tobacco products, as well as restrictions on marketing to curb the appeal of these products to youth. The FDA deemed authority over electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), cigars, and hookah products in 2016, which meant that the regulatory and statutory requirements in place for manufacturers of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco now became applicable to all electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine gels, hookah tobacco, and also any future tobacco products.

Effective September 9, 2020, premarket review applications were due to FDA for review on many products including ENDS, certain cigars, and hookah products. FDA has a one-year period for review of these applications; the first denial of 54,000 flavored products was issued on August 26, 2021. The current status of their applications reviews is available online.

FDA takes significant steps to protect Americans from dangers of tobacco through new regulation

Visit the FDA website to learn more about the FDA regulations regarding tobacco products.

Thinking About Quitting?

For Free Help or Information to Quit:

Call the CT Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW
For the hearing impaired - TTY number is 1-877-777-6534
To enroll online, visit www.QuitNow.net/Connecticut or www.CommitToQuitCT.com
Services are available in English, Spanish (1-855-DEJELO-YA), and other languages

Become an Ex through face-to-face, in-person cessation programs The Become an EX online program is also available to help you re-learn life without cigarettes or vapes.