RFK Jr.’s overhaul of US preventive health taskforce stalls update on helping children quit tobacco

The Trump administration has postponed all meetings of the US Preventive Services Taskforce since March 2025, blocking new recommendations on tobacco cessation for children and other health topics.

• The taskforce has been unable to meet since March 2025, stalling 14 topics including cervical cancer screening and childhood tobacco cessation.
• Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr fired two taskforce leaders in May and called members “lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years” at a congressional hearing.
• HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard said the July meeting was postponed to late August to allow time for selection and onboarding of new members.
• Former taskforce member Dr Michael Silverstein said new evidence on tobacco cessation for children was “very encouraging” but the group could not vote on a draft recommendation.