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.
Now is a great time to quit
-
Exciting news!
- Starting February 1st 2023, our CT Quitline is offering 8-weeks of free NRT for a limited time!
- Call1-800-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!
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.
- Being a current or former cigarette smoker increases your risk of severe illness from COVID-19
- 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 Control Program Overview 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 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?

- 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
The Become an EX online program is also available to help you re-learn life without cigarettes or vapes.
Face-to-face "in person" programs are available: Local Community Cessation Directory
Smartphone apps and more information are available at smokefree.gov.
Cessation Resources - Military Personnel
Cessation Resources - Military Family-Friend
Additional Information:
- Tobacco Industry Marketing
- Tobacco and Pregnancy
- Tobacco Times Newsletter
- Types of Tobacco Products
- What You Can Do to Make a Difference
Resources:
- Upcoming Trainings
- Fact Sheet: Nicotine
- Fact Sheet: Flavors
- Fact Sheet: Menthol Flavored Tobacco Products
- Fact Sheet: Smokefree/Vapefree Air
- Smokeless Tobacco Fact Sheet
- Smoke Free Housing Resources
- Multi-Unit Housing Smokefree Policies
- Condo Smokefree Policies
- HUD Final Ruling on Smoke Free Policies in Public Housing
- Smoke Free College Campuses
- Smoke Free Club - Sample Policy
- Smoke Free Club - Sample Survey
- Sample Smoke & Vape Free Signage
- DPH Lending Library material order catalog
- Surgeon General's Report- The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress, Executive Summary
For more information, please call or email the Tobacco Control Program:
Phone: (860) 509-8251
Email: DPHTobacco@ct.gov
Last updated October 6, 2021
Back to Top