W.Va. Nearly Funded Tobacco Education Efforts, But Let Bill Die In Committee

Lawmakers came up one bill short on funding tobacco cessation and prevention programs in West Virginia in the final hours of the 2025 session.

In 2023, then-Attorney General Patrick Morrisey settled with Juul Labs, an e-cigarette company, for $7.9 million in a lawsuit alleging the company was marketing products to underage users in West Virginia.

The lawsuit also accused Juul of violating the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act by engaging in unfair or deceptive practices in the design, manufacturing, marketing and sale of e-cigarettes in West Virginia.

The Juul settlement money’s stated purpose was to fund youth prevention efforts. With Morrisey now governor, the legislature has yet to appropriate any of those settlement funds toward tobacco cessation or prevention.

That nearly changed in the final week of the 2025 legislative session. 

House Bill 3521 would have appropriated $1,192,452 from the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Recovery Fund to a program in the Department of Health called the Tobacco Education Program.

After originating in the House Finance Committee on April 9, the bill passed the House of Delegates but was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on Saturday, April 12, and remained there until the legislature adjourned for the year.

The ACS CAN Government Relations Director, Doug Hogan, released a statement on April 11, following the bill’s passage through the House, urging the Senate to pass the legislation.

“As Big Tobacco works tirelessly to addict future generations through e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, ACS CAN applauds this action and urges the Senate to pass this legislation before the deadline,”  Hogan said. “The need for funding for tobacco prevention programs has never been more critical.”

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in West Virginia, including 37.8% of cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

In addition, 28.5% of West Virginia high school students use tobacco products.

Lawmakers in the House said the bill was a product of them “finding the money” while working on the state’s budget. 

The Senate referred the bill to the finance committee without discussion on April 12.