Alabama Highlights

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in Alabama. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by Alabama's elected officials:

The 2025 legislative session was a busy one for tobacco prevention and control issues. The Lung Association and other public health partners engaged in various pieces of legislation that made good and bad changes to our tobacco control laws. After many years, Representative Drummond was successful in passing legislation to further regulate tobacco products in the state. House Bill 8 instituted additional accountability for tobacco retailers through the establishment of a retail licensing fee and adjusted the youth penalty structure for purchase, use and possession of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. The legislation also made changes to the e-cigarette directory that was established in 2021 and requires the State Board of Education to adopt a model policy for tobacco and vaping awareness that could be used in local public-school districts. The legislation passed; however, parts of it are facing legal challenges by the tobacco industry.

The Alabama Legislature considered and passed House Bill 357 by Representative Hollis which creates a new definition for heated tobacco products and allows these products to be taxed at 50% the rate of cigarettes. The Lung Association actively opposed this legislation led by Phillip Morris International. We will continue to monitor these products when they are available in Alabama.

House Bill 529 was also passed to enact a 10 cents per milliliter tax on e-cigarettes. The legislation allowed local municipalities to pass local e-cigarette tax ordinances before October 1, 2025. A number of municipalities, including Montgomery, Birmingham, Orange Beach, and Mobile, passed local ordinances to enact a similar tax on e-cigarettes before the deadline. The tax does not go into effect until October 1, 2026.

Local public health coalitions and communities continue to be limited in their ability to focus on tobacco control issues, such as implementing strong smokefree ordinances. The Lung Association is grateful to the 33 municipalities that continue to protect their residents from exposure to secondhand smoke and continues to engage as appropriate.

In 2026, the American Lung Association will advocate for access to comprehensive quit tobacco coverage for Medicaid recipients and will be monitoring the implementation of the new tobacco retail licensing program that will ensure enforcement and compliance with tobacco control statutes. The Lung Association will continue educating state legislators on the benefits of a statewide smokefree law, while also monitoring and combating tobacco industry influence on state public health policies. To reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco use in Alabama, state legislators will need to recognize the health and economic burden of tobacco and secondhand smoke exposure by enacting public health protections and investing in evidence-based tobacco prevention programs.