Fighting Commercial Tobacco. Together.
Washington Breathes is a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals working to eliminate the harmful use of commercial tobacco and other nicotine products.
Improving Health In All Communities
Our Top Priorities
Restore Comprehensive Funding
Obtain sustainable funding to support comprehensive commercial tobacco education, prevention, and treatment programs throughout the state.
Improve Access To Cessation Treatment
Ensure effective, culturally and linguistically appropriate nicotine cessation strategies and support are available and provided to all who seek it – including youth.
Address Disparities
Improve understanding of the disproportionate impact of commercial tobacco products on specific communities and tailor support services/messaging to the specific needs of that community.
Support Healthy Youth
Support policies, programs, and funding that educate youth on the harms of commercial tobacco use and support them in cessation efforts, working towards a future nicotine-free generation.
Eliminate Flavored Products
Educate on the harms of flavors - including menthol - and support policies that expand flavor restrictions and bans to reduce initiation and disparities.
Restore Local Authority
Explain the benefits of local laws and policies that reflect community interests and solve local problems caused by sales and marketing of commercial tobacco products and the harmful impacts of preemption.
The Tobacco Industry Spends $87 Million Each Year on Marketing in WA State Alone
That's more than 20 times Washington's state investment of about $4 million this year for prevention strategies and cessation programs to reduce smoking and vaping.
STAY UP-TO-DATE
Featured Issues
Washington's Failing Grade & A Little Progress
Washington State received a failing F grade....again...in the annual analysis by the American Lung Association of state's funding for commercial tobacco prevention and cessation. WA's FY 2024 state funding of just $4.64 million is far less than 1% of the $480 million in tobacco-related taxes and Master Settlement Agreement funds to the state each year. That's less than 1 penny on the dollar invested in ending the youth vaping crisis, improving access to culturally-appropriate cessation services, or supporting community-based interventions to address higher rates of commercial tobacco use among specific communities.
In better news, the 2024 legislative session produced a small shift in the right direction. An additional $500,000 was directed to the commercial tobacco prevention program for FY 2025. These funds will be put to good uses, but more investment is needed to meaningfully support healthier communities for all.
Learn more about Restoring Comprehensive Funding and Addressing Disparities.
No Menthol Sunday
May 19, 2024. Get engaged in this call to action on the detrimental impacts of commercial tobacco on Black communities. This 10th annual event sponsored by The Center for Black Health and Equity engages the faith community in supporting people who want to stop smoking or vaping, and building awareness in communities and with policymakers.
Use the No Menthol Sunday Toolkit to equip your community against the tobacco industry's predatory tactics. This toolkit provides strategies, facts, and talking points for a tobacco-free future. Pledge forms, resources for youth teams, and more information are also available.
Find resources and sign up to participate on the
Menthol is more than just a minty flavor - it makes it easier to start smoking or vaping, and harder to quit.
Learn more from our Menthol & Nicotine Cessation fact sheet.
Federal Menthol Rule Delay
The White House has delayed issuing FDA's proposed rules to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The tobacco industry and industry-funded organizations have been lobbying the White House, raising familiar, but unfounded, claims that a menthol cigarette ban would result in police targeting of smokers who are Black. That's false: enforcement would be on manufacturers, distributors, and retailers - not on individuals. Unproven political concerns are also being raised about impacts on President Biden’s re-election.
Ending the sale of menthol cigarettes in the U.S. could prevent 654,000 deaths, including preventing the deaths of about 238,000 African Americans.
Learn more: African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council
104,000
youth will die prematurely from smoking
8,300
deaths from smoking each year
27%
of cancer deaths are due to smoking
$3.26 BN
in annual health care expenditures directly caused by commercial tobacco use
39th
WA's FY 2024 national rank for state investment in nicotine prevention & cessation
ongoing until April 30th
DOH Listening Sessions on Commercial Tobacco Program Spending Priorities
April 16
2024 State Session Debrief & Look Ahead
April 17-18
Virtual Conference: Triangulum of Cannabis, Tobacco, & E-Cigarettes
April 22
Quit Coach Training
May 19
No Menthol Sunday
May 31
World No Tobacco Day