Tobacco use rates vary tremendously between states. This page describes current adult cigarette smoking rates, adult cigarette quit attempts, adult electronic cigarette use, high school student cigarette smoking rates, high school student use of any tobacco rates, and middle school student cigarette smoking rates by state.

 

Adult Cigarette Smoking Rates by State

 
In 2018, cigarette smoking rates among adults by state ranged from a low of 9.0 percent in Utah to a high of 25.2 percent in West Virginia:
 

Adult Cigarette Smoking by State

State Current   Tried to Quit   Former Never
Alabama 761,140 20.9% 477,936 63.2% 851,061 2,024,858
Alaska 111,288 21.0% 62,325 56.4% 135,547 282,910
Arizona 796,004 15.6% 466,429 59.0% 1,262,624 3,058,722
Arkansas 491,610 22.3% 298,202 61.3% 563,476 1,150,802
California 3,203,562 11.3% 1,870,042 58.9% 6,293,776 18,762,085
Colorado 587,137 14.6% 348,676 59.7% 1,026,635 2,399,606
Connecticut 338,849 12.7% 217,014 64.6% 690,880 1,631,877
Delaware 124,011 17.0% 80,920 65.6% 182,470 421,711
District of Columbia 78,869 14.3% 48,946 62.2% 101,374 369,510
Florida 2,577,420 16.1% 1,579,560 61.6% 3,991,988 9,447,002
Georgia 1,307,100 17.5% 766,766 58.7% 1,521,537 4,660,276
Hawaii 136,408 12.8% 78,377 57.6% 284,632 645,201
Idaho 176,982 14.3% 96,202 54.5% 294,300 762,097
Illinois 1,466,080 15.5% 839,248 57.4% 2,185,142 5,832,199
Indiana 1,059,118 21.8% 591,113 55.9% 1,190,558 2,613,609
Iowa 400,049 17.1% 210,459 52.7% 576,456 1,365,701
Kansas 360,137 17.4% 204,313 57.1% 504,098 1,207,388
Kentucky 820,721 24.6% 463,892 56.6% 853,098 1,663,337
Louisiana 776,192 23.1% 496,671 64.4% 772,236 1,818,887
Maine 179,036 17.3% 98,213 55.1% 327,987 527,664
Maryland 619,227 13.8% 370,727 60.2% 983,806 2,868,717
Massachusetts 717,716 13.7% 407,860 57.2% 1,315,564 3,217,937
Michigan 1,441,675 19.3% 862,087 59.9% 1,995,233 4,031,034
Minnesota 594,930 14.5% 321,262 54.2% 1,079,804 2,424,375
Mississippi 472,648 22.2% 264,717 56.1% 459,365 1,198,339
Missouri 948,726 20.8% 490,983 52.0% 1,177,901 2,440,044
Montana 138,198 17.2% 72,063 52.4% 219,520 447,717
Nebraska 214,738 15.4% 119,034 55.6% 343,343 836,857
Nevada 394,177 17.6% 213,046 54.7% 537,040 1,310,157
New Hampshire 161,207 15.7% 90,185 56.1% 312,105 555,758
New Jersey 914,841 13.7% 581,483 63.9% 1,684,792 4,059,118
New Mexico 264,465 17.5% 154,190 58.6% 361,383 886,624
New York 2,058,331 14.1% 1,224,816 59.6% 3,371,378 9,177,289
North Carolina 1,320,956 17.2% 777,239 59.0% 1,989,751 4,371,713
North Dakota 103,343 18.3% 55,925 54.6% 141,110 321,202
Ohio 1,842,396 21.1% 1,004,594 54.6% 2,129,124 4,747,215
Oklahoma 576,977 20.1% 341,869 59.4% 702,843 1,583,890
Oregon 504,603 16.1% 274,275 55.0% 807,163 1,824,790
Pennsylvania 1,837,177 18.7% 1,053,040 57.7% 2,638,284 5,323,118
Rhode Island 120,811 14.9% 73,633 61.6% 230,295 457,003
South Carolina 711,229 18.8% 425,822 60.3% 1,001,709 2,072,533
South Dakota 124,347 19.3% 70,310 56.6% 165,559 355,085
Tennessee 1,119,838 22.6% 614,073 54.9% 1,175,962 2,650,681
Texas 3,139,192 15.7% 2,030,728 65.0% 3,970,863 12,872,578
Utah 188,767 8.9% 108,302 57.9% 318,801 1,618,164
Vermont 76,344 15.8% 44,951 59.1% 142,411 264,013
Virginia 1,047,461 16.4% 624,710 60.2% 1,518,906 3,829,491
Washington 747,860 13.5% 441,815 59.5% 1,507,839 3,288,501
West Virginia 370,689 26.0% 206,010 55.9% 373,876 680,784
Wisconsin 689,747 16.0% 350,171 50.8% 1,102,242 2,512,271
Wyoming 82,278 18.7% 46,852 57.2% 114,056 243,116
United States 39,002,100 16.4% 22,973,300 59.2% 58,368,700 140,810,100
State Current   Tried to Quit   Former Never

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2017, analysed by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit.

  • Never smokers reported have smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their life. Former smokers reported having smoked 100 or more cigarettes ever but none in the past 30 days. Current smokers reported having smoked 100 or more cigarettes ever and one or more cigarettes in the past 30 days. Tried to quit are current smokers who stopped smoking for one day or more in the past year because they were trying to quit. Counts rounded to hundreds.

Adult Cigarette Smokers Who Made a Quit Attempt by State

 

In 2018, the percent of adult current cigarette smokers who stopped smoking for one day or more in the past year because they were trying to quit ranged from a low of 50.6 percent in Montana to a high of 69.1 percent in District of Columbia.

Adult E-Cigarette Use by State

 
2017

In 2018, current use of e-cigarettes among adults ranged from a low of 2.3 percent in the District of Columbia to a high of 7.1 percent in Oklahoma.

Youth Cigarette Smoking and Tobacco Use by State

  • In 2017, cigarette smoking rates among high school students from the 34 states with comparable data ranged from 3.5 percent in Connecticut to 14.3 percent in Kentucky.
     

    Cigarettes

      Middle School High School
      2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
    Total 9.8 8.1 6.3 5.2 4.3 3.5 12.7 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.1 1.8 2.3 22.5 21.7 19.7 17.2 15.8 14.0 12.7 9.2 9.3 8.0 7.6 8.1 5.8
    Male 9.8 7.7 6.3 5.6 4.5 3.8 14.1 3.0 2.3 2.5 2.0 2.1 2.1 23.9 21.6 21.2 19.6 17.7 16.3 14.1 10.6 10.7 9.1 7.6 8.8 7.3
    Female 9.7 8.6 6.4 4.7 4.0 3.2 11.2 2.0 2.2 1.8 2.2 1.5 2.5 21.0 21.8 18.4 14.8 13.8 11.7 11.2 7.9 7.7 6.9 7.6 7.3 4.1
    Non-Hispanic White 10.1 8.3 6.5 4.3 3.8 3.1 2.6 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.6 2.1 25.2 24.8 22.3 19.4 17.6 15.4 14.0 10.8 10.2 9.9 9.5 9.9 7.1
    Non-Hispanic Black 9.0 7.5 5.5 5.2 3.6 2.6 1.7 1.7 N/A N/A 2.1 N/A N/A 13.8 10.9 9.9 7.4 10.6 9.6 9.0 4.5 5.7 3.9 2.8 3.2 N/A
    Hispanic 8.7 9.4 6.8 6.7 6.7 5.4 5.1 3.7 2.8 2.5 3.5 2.4 3.1 19.8 20.5 18.8 19.2 15.8 14.3 13.4 8.8 9.0 6.4 6.2 7.2 3.8
      2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

    Current use is defined as using the product on one or more of the past 30 days.

    Sources:
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2019. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software. 2002-2009 from MMWRs.

    • N/A Estimate is unreliable due to a sample size of less than 20.
  • In 2017, use of any tobacco product among high school students from the 32 states with comparable data ranged from 9.7 percent in Utah to 32.7 percent in Montana.
     

    Any Tobacco*

      Middle School High School
      2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
    Total 13.3 11.8 9.5 8.2 7.5 6.9 6.9 8.1 7.9 8.0 6.4 8.1 12.5 28.2 27.4 25.6 23.9 24.2 23.7 23.7 25.4 26.3 20.2 21.5 28.6 31.2
    Male 14.7 12.7 10.9 9.6 9.0 8.1 7.0 9.3 9.0 9.6 7.6 9.2 12.5 32.6 30.7 30.2 29.4 29.4 28.9 28.3 29.4 31.4 23.5 25.3 31.1 31.8
    Female 11.7 10.7 8.2 6.7 5.9 5.7 6.7 7.0 6.8 6.4 5.1 7.0 12.4 23.7 24.1 21.3 18.2 19.0 18.3 19.0 21.6 21.0 17.0 17.8 26.1 30.6
    Non-Hispanic White 13.2 11.2 9.2 7.1 6.1 5.3 5.7 6.4 6.5 6.4 5.4 7.1 11.4 30.9 30.8 28.4 26.7 26.6 24.9 24.5 27.1 26.8 23.0 23.7 33.4 35.6
    Non-Hispanic Black 13.5 12.3 9.8 8.3 8.5 8.0 7.4 7.8 7.1 9.3 6.0 7.6 12.3 21.7 16.8 15.7 14.0 18.9 23.1 21.9 18.3 23.3 16.4 18.3 19.2 25.4
    Hispanic 12.5 14.8 10.9 11.1 11.5 10.8 10.6 12.7 11.7 10.7 9.1 11.0 16.1 24.1 25.7 24.7 24.8 23.8 22.9 24.9 27.9 26.6 18.3 20.2 24.2 26.6
      2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2002 2004 2006 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

    Current use is defined as using the product on one or more of the past 30 days.

    Sources:
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2019. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software. 2002-2009 from MMWRs.

    • * Any tobacco use is defined as use of any one or more of the products listed in this section for that year. Electronic cigarettes, hookah, snus, and dissolvable tobacco were added in 2011. Kreteks were removed after 2013. Heated tobacco products were added in 2019.
  • In 2017, cigarette smoking rates among middle school students from the 17 states with comparable data ranged from 0.8 percent in Connecticut to 9.7 percent in Tennessee.
     

    Youth Cigarette Smoking and Tobacco Use by State

      High School Cigarette Smoking High School Tobacco Use Middle School Cigarette Smoking
    State Rate Source Rate Source Rate Source
    Alabama 10.9% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2016 35.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 6.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2014
    Alaska 10.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 25.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017    
    Arizona 7.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 21.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Arkansas 13.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 26.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 6.9% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2010
    California 5.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 27.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 2.8% California Healthy Kids Survey (7th grade only), 2013-15
    Colorado 7.0% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 30.3% Colorado Healthy Kids Survey, 2015 1.9% Colorado Healthy Kids Survey, 2015
    Connecticut 3.5% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 17.9% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 0.8% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2015
    Delaware 6.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 19.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.7% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2015
    District of Columbia 12.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2011     9.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2000
    Florida 3.6% Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, 2018 29.3% Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, 2018 2.0% Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, 2018
    Georgia 8.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017     3.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2013
    Hawaii 6.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 23.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 3.1% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Idaho 9.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 18.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 9.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2003
    Illinois 7.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 18.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2015
    Indiana 11.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 32.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 1.8% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2016
    Iowa 9.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 19.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.5% Iowa Youth Survey (8th grade only), 2016
    Kansas 7.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 17.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2013
    Kentucky 14.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 26.0% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 9.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2010
    Louisiana 12.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 25.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 3.8% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Maine 8.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 22.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.9% Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, 2017
    Maryland 8.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 21.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 3.5% Maryland Youth Tobacco Survey, 2008
    Massachusetts 6.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 24.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.4% Massachusetts Youth Health Survey, 2015
    Michigan 10.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 22.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 7.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2003
    Minnesota 9.6% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 26.4% Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 1.9% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Mississippi 7.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 37.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 1.5% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Missouri 9.2% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 20.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 3.5% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Montana 9.4% Montana Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (10th grade only), 2018 32.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 3.9% Montana Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (8th grade only), 2018
    Nebraska 7.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 16.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 5.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2006
    Nevada 6.4% Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 21.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.2% Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017
    New Hampshire 7.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 30.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 3.6% New Hampshire Youth Tobacco Survey, 2007
    New Jersey 4.7% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 14.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 1.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2015
    New Mexico 10.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 31.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 6.8% New Mexico Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2011
    New York 5.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 19.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.2% New York Youth Tobacco Survey, 2014
    North Carolina 8.9% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 28.8% North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 2.5% North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    North Dakota 9.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 28.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Ohio 8.4% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017     1.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Oklahoma 12.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 25.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 4.1% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2016
    Oregon 7.7% Oregon Healthy Teens Survey (11th grade only), 2017 18.9% Oregon Healthy Teens Survey (11th grade only), 2017 3.0% Oregon Healthy Teens Survey (8th grade only), 2017
    Pennsylvania 8.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 18.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.3% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2015
    Rhode Island 6.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 25.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.9% Rhode Island Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017
    South Carolina 10.0% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 21.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 3.2% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    South Dakota 10.1% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 30.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 2.0% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Tennessee 9.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 20.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 9.7% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2004
    Texas 7.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 16.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.4% Texas School Survey, 2016
    Utah 3.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 9.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.3% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2007
    Vermont 9.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 18.9% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2% Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (rounded to the nearest whole number), 2017
    Virginia 6.5% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 16.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 2.4% Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017
    Washington 6.3% Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (10th grade only), 2016     3.1% Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (8th grade only), 2016
    West Virginia 10.3% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017 26.6% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 4.5% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017
    Wisconsin 7.8% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 17.3% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017 1.3% Youth Tobacco Survey, 2016
    Wyoming 15.7% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 38.4% Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2015 5.4% Wyoming Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2013
    State Rate Source Rate Source Rate Source
    • Smoking was defined as having smoked on at least one day during the 30 days before the survey. Tobacco use was defined as having used cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, or electronic vapor products on at least one day during the 30 days before the urvey.
 
 

Page last updated: April 18, 2024

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