Tobacco use in Kansas 2019

• In 2017, 17.4% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1%.1
• In 2017, 7.2% of high school students in Kansas smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.8%.2

• In 2017, 4.6% of adults used e-cigarettes and 5.5% used smokeless tobacco.3
• In 2017, 10.6% of high school students in Kansas used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 13.2%.2
• In 2017, 5.3% of high school students in Kansas 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, 7.6% of high school students in Kansas smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.0%.2

• Kansas received $190 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2019.4
• Of this, the state allocated $847,041 in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2019, 3% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
• Smoking-related health care costs: $1.12 billion per year4
• Smoking-related losses in productivity:$1.09 billion per year5

Tobacco taxes

• Kansas is ranked 33rd in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.29 per pack (enacted July 2015), 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.) 6-8
• All other tobacco products are taxed at 10% of the wholesale price.6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.7
• Smoking restrictions are required in casinos/gaming establishments (casino floors and tribal establishments are exempt).7
• There are no smoke-free restrictions for e-cigarette use.9

Youth access laws

• The minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Kansas 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.6,7

Local tobacco laws

• 22 cities and counties in Kansas, including Kansas City/Wyandotte City, Olathe, Overland Park and Topeka, prohibit the sale of tobacco products to those under age 21.10

• The CDC estimates 49.5% of daily adult smokers in Kansas quit smoking for one or more days in 2017.11
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.7**
• Kansas’s state quit line invests 44 cents per smoker, compared with the national of $2.21.7
• Kansas does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.7

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. Hu SS, Homa DM, Wang T, et al. State-Specific Patterns of Cigarette Smoking, Smokeless Tobacco Use, and E-Cigarette Use Among Adults - United States, 2016. Preventing chronic disease. 2019;16:E17.

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 Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI).

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

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

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.

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