RFK Jr’s advisory panel overhaul stalled update on helping kids quit tobacco

US preventive services taskforce's members have not issued binding recommendations since March 2025

The health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's overhaul of an influential federal advisory group has stalled an update that would have highlighted encouraging" new evidence on helping children quit tobacco, according to a recently departed member of the group.

The Trump administration has postponed or canceled all meetings of the US preventive services taskforce since March 2025, effectively preventing taskforce members from issuing binding recommendations for more than a year. As a result, 14 topics under consideration have been stalled - including on cervical cancer screening, perinatal depression and autism screening.