An overhaul by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of the US Preventive Services Taskforce has stalled an update that would have highlighted encouraging new evidence on helping children quit tobacco, according to a recently departed member. The Trump administration has postponed or canceled all taskforce meetings since March 2025, preventing binding recommendations for over a year and stalling 14 topics, including cervical cancer screening, perinatal depression, and autism screening.
Taskforce Stalled on Child Tobacco Cessation
Dr Michael Silverstein, who served on the taskforce from 2016 to March 2025, said there was a lot of new, very encouraging evidence on tobacco cessation for kids. He noted the issue moved through subcommittees but without formal meetings, a draft recommendation was never reached. The taskforce last considered childhood tobacco cessation in 2020, recommending prevention but finding insufficient research for cessation. The 2025 revisit aimed to publish an updated recommendation.
Kennedy's Actions and Congressional Testimony
Kennedy fired two taskforce leaders in May and called members lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years at an April congressional hearing. He also called for more Alzheimer's screening. Emily Hilliard, HHS senior press secretary, said the July meeting was postponed to late August due to an unprecedented number of nominations for membership.
Broader Anti-Smoking Program Cuts
Since Trump's second term, the administration has dismantled several anti-smoking health programs. The CDC's office on smoking and health has been shut for over a year, and the 14-year-old ad campaign Tips from Former Smokers went off the air. The FDA's lead tobacco regulator was removed in April 2025. Dr Marty Makary, a former Trump FDA commissioner, resigned in protest against a new policy allowing flavored vapes by tobacco companies, shortly after a Reynolds American subsidiary donated $5m to a Trump-backed Super Pac.
Supreme Court Ruling and Outside Concerns
The changes follow a 2025 Supreme Court ruling affirming Kennedy's power to appoint and fire taskforce members, stemming from a case over PrEP coverage. Hard-right groups like AAPS argued PrEP was for risky lifestyles. Outside groups like AcademyHealth expressed concern, with CEO Dr Aaron E Carroll stating that Republican and Democratic administrations, including the previous Trump administration, were not like this, and that the lack of answers after a full year is staggering.
Lobbying Efforts and Uncertainty
In the vacuum of Kennedy's priorities, test and device makers have begun lobbying. Guardant Health, which makes a blood test for colorectal cancer, spent $241,000 in early 2026 lobbying AHRQ, which supports the taskforce, and launched a public petition urging updated guidelines. Carroll noted the sad humor in having to guess what is going on in the government instead of actually knowing.
