Current Policies

Last Updated: October 23, 2026

37 U.S. jurisdictions and 2 countries that have passed innovative laws to phase out the sale of tobacco products. Many more are working to pass endgame policies.

US Endgame Progress

• 26 towns in Massachusetts have passed a Nicotine-Free Generation (NFG) policy as of September 16, 2026, the towns with a birthdate-based phase-out of the sale of tobacco products (and their birthdate sales cut-offs) are:

Amherst, Belchertown, Brookline (first to pass), Chelsea, Concord, Conway, Dover, Easthampton, Hardwick, Hopkinton, Leverett, Malden, Manchester-By-The-Sea, Medfield, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Northampton, Pelham, Reading, Rockport, Somerville, South Hadley, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester

Read more here> And here>

• Four towns in Minnesota, one in NY, and one in MA are phasing out tobacco retail licenses:

Dolgeville, NY; Wakefield, MA; Bloomington, MN; Little Canada, MN; St. Anthony Village, MN; Columbia Heights, MN

• Six towns in California have banned tobacco product sales altogether.

Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Tiburon, Ross, Corte Madera, and Mill Valley, CA

 

Alternative Path:

– One county in California has banned cigarette filters: Santa Cruz County, CA

Global Progress

• United Kingdom: Tobacco-Free Generation bill was signed into law in the UK on April 26, 2026. Read more>
• The Maldives: Implemented Smoke-Free Generation (SFG)* on May 21, 2025. Read more>
  • * This policy does not include e-cigarettes because their sale was already banned.
• Turkey: There is a nuanced draft to ban the sale of tobacco products. Advocates await the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the complete draft. Read the organizational sign on letter here>
• Poland: Draft to ban new nicotine products and disposable e-cigarettes
• South Australia: Nicotine-Free Generation bill is pending in South Australia
• France: A draft Tobacco-Free Generation bill was submitted to the French National Assembly. The National Assembly’s social affairs committee adopted amendment no. AS1601 tabled by Green Party MP Nicolas Thierry. The text provides for a ban, starting from the 1 January 2027, on the sale of tobacco to people born on or after 1 January 2009. Read more here>
• The European Union is committing funds for endgame work in 23 countries
• Vatican City, Holy See: Sales ban on all tobacco products in 2017. Read more>
• Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia: Sales ban on all tobacco products in 2002. Read more>

Alternative Path:

– The United Kingdom, Australia, and the European Union are considering a cigarette filter ban.

Passed but Repealed

• In 2016, Balanga City, Philippines passed a Tobacco-Free Generation law that bans the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2000. The tobacco industry sued, and won so TFG has not been implemented.
• In 2022, The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act (SERPA) and the Smokefree Aotearoa Action Plan passed in New Zealand. This policy was a smoke-free generation policy that banned the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 1, 2009, nicotine reduction to non-addictive levels, and a drastic reduction in the number of retailers. Under a new government, New Zealand repealed the Act in 2023.

US Goals

• The United States Department of Health adopted the Healthy People 2030 platform, including a goal of less than 5% smoking prevalence by 2030. Unfortunately, in 2022 the goal was changed to 6.1%.
• The State of California aims to end the tobacco epidemic by 2035. The California Tobacco Control Program unveiled its endgame plans to the public health community in January 2021. Learn more about ASH’s work in California here.

Global Goals

• ASPIRE Countries

Over the past decade, at least 15 governments – the so-called ASPIRE countries – adopted goals to drive prevalence to very low numbers by a certain date.

• New Zealand was the first to set a goal – they hoped to push prevalence down below 5% by 2025.

On December 13, 2022, the New Zealand Parliament passed the most sweeping anti-tobacco law in the world, including Tobacco-Free Generation, drastically reducing the number of retailers, and reducing nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. Unfortunately, a new government rescinded the law in 2024. Action Plan and Resources for Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 here>

• Europe

On February 3, 2021, the European Commission unveiled its “Beating Cancer Plan.” One of the Plan’s key actions is to reduce smoking prevalence to below 5% by 2040. The EC’s plan recognizes that it will be impossible to defeat cancer without ending tobacco use. A task force formed by the Commission – on which ASH served – recommended a birthdate-based tobacco sales phaseout.

• France

November 4, 2025 during a press conference, MP Nicolas Thierry and the ACT-Alliance Against Tobacco presented a landmark bill aimed at achieving the government’s goal of a tobacco-free generation by 2032. The principle of the measure is simple: to prohibit tobacco companies from selling tobacco to anyone born after 2014. Supported today by three-quarters of the French population, this proposal, co-signed by more than 20 MPs ranging from the LFI group to the Horizons group, is not only necessary for the health of our citizens, but also for the health of our economy, our healthcare system, and our environment.

• Spain

On February 12, 2021, a coalition of Spanish health and advocacy groups published its “Endgame Declaration of Tobacco in Spain 2030,” a detailed plan to make “tobacco consumption disappear from Spanish society” within ten years. The centerpiece of the plan is the enactment of the “Tobacco Free Generation” concept, which would bar sales to anyone born after 2006. Some health officials from the ruling party seem to be on board.

•  Wales

July 26, 2022 – long-term plan towards a smoke-free Wales by 2030.

• Theme 1: Reducing inequalities
• Theme 2: Future generations
• Theme 3: A whole-system approach for a smoke-free Wales

Organizational Support

• Both the British and Norwegian Medical Associations have endorsed the Tobacco-Free Generation Concept
• The American Medical Association endorsed the Nicotine-Free Generation Concept

All these efforts require sustained effort to build and maintain political will and develop detailed plans. But ending the commercialization of tobacco is no longer a fringe topic in public health.