Tobacco use in Connecticut 2023

• In 2022, 10.0% of adults in Connecticut smoked. Nationally, adult smoking prevalence was 14.0%1
• In 2021,1.3% of high school students in Connecticut smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, smoking prevalence among high school students was 3.8%.2

• In 2022, 5.5% of adults in Connecticut used e-cigarettes. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 7.7%1
• In 2022, 1.8% of adults in Connecticut used smokeless tobacco every day or some days. Nationally, adult smokeless tobacco use prevalence was 3.4%1
• In 2021, 10.6% of high school students in Connecticut used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, e-cigarette use prevalence among high school students was 18.0%.2
• In 2021, 1.3% of high school students in Connecticut used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, smokeless tobacco use prevalence among high school students was 2.5%.2
• In 2021, 0.7% of high school students in Connecticut smoke cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, cigar use prevalence among high school students was 3.1%.2

• Connecticut received $455.1 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2022.4
• Of this, the state allocated $13.6 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2022, 42.6% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
• Smoking-related health care costs: $2.36 billion per year.4
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $3.5 billion per year.5

Tobacco taxes

• Connecticut is ranked 3rd in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $4.35 per pack (enacted December 2017), compared with the national average $1.93. (New York has the highest tax at $5.35 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)6,7
• Snuff is taxed $3.00 per ounce. Cigars are taxed at 50% of the wholesale sales price except the tax cannot exceed 50 cents per cigar. E-cigarettes are taxed at 40 cents per milliliter for e-liquid in e-cigarette products that are prefilled, sealed by the manufacturer and not intended to be refillable, and 10% of the wholesale price for any other e-cigarette product. All other tobacco products are taxed at 50% of the manufacturer’s list price.7,8

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars (tobacco bars are exempt), casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments are exempt), retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.8
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s clean indoor air law.9

Licensing laws

• Retailers are required to obtain a license to sell cigarettes but are not required to obtain a license to sell other tobacco products. Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.7
• A license is required to sell e-cigarette products.9

Youth access laws

• In December 2019, the United States adopted a law raising the federal minimum age of sale of all tobacco products to 21, effective immediately.
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to minors are prohibited.7
• The sale or delivery of electronic nicotine delivery systems or vapor products to persons under 21 is prohibited.9
• Delivery sales must be made only to age-verified consumers and include a shipping label on all containers that states “CONTAINS AN ELECTRONIC NICOTINE DELIVERY SYSTE, OR VAPOR PRODUCT—SIGNATURE OF A PERSON AGE 21 OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY”.9

• The CDC estimates 53.4% of daily adult smokers in Connecticut quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.3
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.8**
• Connecticut’s state quit line invests .34 cents per smoker, compared with the national median of $2.37.8
• Connecticut does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.8

Updated June 2023

* The datasets for both adults and youth prevalence were used to make direct comparisons at the state and national levels. National prevalence reported here may differ from what is reported in our national-level fact sheets. The numbers here also reflect the most recent data available. Dates of available data may differ across state fact sheets.

**The seven recommended quitting medications are NRT gum, NRT patch, NRT nasal spray, NRT inhaler, NRT lozenge, Varenicline (Chantix) and Bupropion (Zyban).

Fiore MC, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service: May 2008.

1.         CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022.

2.         CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2021.

3.         CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2021.

4.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 24 Years Later FY2023, 2023.

5.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Toll of Tobacco in the United States.

6.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings. https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0097.pdf. Accessed October 4th 2023.

7.         American Lung Association, State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI).

8.         American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2023.

9.         Public Health Law Center. U.S. E-Cigarette Regulation: 50-State Review. http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review. Accessed October 4th 2023.