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Fact Sheet Fact Sheet

Tobacco use in Delaware 2019

Cigarette use: Delaware*

Cigarette use in Delaware

  • In 2017, 17% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1%.1
  • In 2017, 6.2% of high school students in Delaware smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.8%.2
Cigarette use in Delaware graphic

Other tobacco product use

E-cigarette and smokeless tobacco use in Delaware

  • In 2017, 4.8% of adults used e-cigarettes and 2.9% used smokeless tobacco.3
  • In 2017, 13.6% of high school students in Delaware used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 13.2%.2
  • In 2017, 3.5% of high school students in Delaware used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 5.5%.2
  • In 2017, 7.3% of high school students in Delaware smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.0%.2
Other tobacco product use in Delaware graphic

Economics of tobacco use and tobacco control

Economics of tobacco use in Delaware

  • Delaware received $154.7 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2019.4
  • Of this, the state allocated $6.3 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2019, 48.4% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
  • Smoking-related health care costs: $532 million per year.4
  • Smoking-related losses in productivity: $391.2 million per year.5
Cigarette tobacco tax in Delaware graph

Delaware tobacco laws

Cigarette tax in Delaware

Tobacco taxes

  • Delaware is ranked 15th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $2.10 per pack (enacted September 2017), compared with the national average of $1.81. (The District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)6,7
  • Moist snuff is taxed at 92 cents per ounce and vaping products are taxed at 5 cents per fluid millimeter of liquid in the product. All other tobacco products are taxed at 30% of the manufacturer’s list price.6,8

Clean indoor air ordinances

  • Smoking is prohibited in all government and private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, casinos/gaming establishments, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.6
  • E-cigarettes are included in the state’s definition of smoking.9

Youth access laws

  • The minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Delaware is 21. 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.6,8
  • Only sales clerks can access tobacco products prior to their sale.6,8
  • Minors are prohibited from buying e-cigarettes.6,8

Quitting statistics and benefits

Quitting statistics in Delaware

  • The CDC estimates 53% of daily adult smokers in Delaware quit smoking for one or more days in 2017.3
  • In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.6**
  • Delaware’s state quit line invests $8.89 per smoker, compared with the national average of $2.21.6
  • Delaware does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.6

Notes and references

Updated April 2019

*National and state-level prevalence numbers reflect the most recent data available. This 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, 2017.

2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017.

3. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2017.

4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 20 Years Later FY2019, 2018.

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

6. American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2019.

7. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings.  https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0097.pdf.

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

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.

10. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. States and Localities that have Raised the Minimum Legal Sales Age for Tobacco Products to 21.  https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/state_local_issues/sales_21/states_localities_MLSA_21.pdf.