Augusta, ME | January 27, 2021 Even amid the pandemic, tobacco use remains a serious public health threat. In addition to tobacco-related death and disease, smoking also increases the risk of the most severe impacts of COVID-19, making ending tobacco use more important than ever. This year’s “State of Tobacco Control” report from the American Lung Association grades federal and state efforts to reduce tobacco use and calls for meaningful policies that will prevent and reduce tobacco use and save lives. The report finds while Maine has taken significant steps to reduce tobacco use, illustrated by its three A grades in prevention and control program funding, smokefree air and access to cessation services, elected officials can do more to save lives by prohibiting flavored tobacco products and increasing the tobacco tax.