Introduction

Thanks to policies like tobacco taxes, clean indoor air acts, and legislation to ban flavor additives, tobacco use is declining around the globe. But there's still an enormous burden of death and disease from smoking, and rates of use are still particularly concerning among key groups like youths and Black Americans. Joanna Cohen, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control, talks with Stephanie Desmon about where the US stands on major policies like banning menthol, how New Zealand's efforts to launch some of the most stringent policies in the world have fared under a new administration, and ongoing battles against tobacco industry lobbying tactics.