Tobacco-Free Kids Applauds Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as a Champion for America’s Kids and Health

Tobacco-Free Kids Applauds Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as a Champion for America's Kids and Health

Statement of Yolonda C. Richardson, President and CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
November 06, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who announced today that she will not seek re-election in 2026, is a truly historic figure whose far-reaching legacy includes protecting the nation's kids from tobacco and improving the health of all Americans.

Because of Nancy Pelosi's leadership and commitment while serving as Speaker of the House, Congress took some of the strongest actions to address tobacco use in the nation's history. In 2009, Congress enacted both the landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which granted the FDA long-sought authority to regulate tobacco products, and the largest federal tobacco tax increase in the nation's history. In 2020, she led the House in approving the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act - the first time a chamber of Congress had ever voted to prohibit all flavored tobacco products. In 2022, Congress enacted a new law making clear the FDA's authority to regulate products made with synthetic nicotine, heading off industry efforts to evade regulation.

Few Congressional leaders have done more to focus public attention on the dangers of tobacco use, to expose the deception of the tobacco industry, and to enact consequential laws that reduce tobacco use and save lives. This is why in 2023, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids presented Speaker Emerita Pelosi with our highest honor, the Champion Award.

Throughout her service in Congress and as Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to improving health care and public health in the United States. We are enormously grateful for her tireless leadership that has resulted in profound, lifesaving change across the nation.