Tobacco use in Virginia 2019

• In 2017, 16.4% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1%.1
• In 2017, 6.5% of high school students in Virginia smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.8%.2

• In 2017, 4.9% of adults used e-cigarettes and 4.0% used smokeless tobacco.3
• In 2017, 11.8% of high school students in Virginia used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 13.2%.2
• In 2017, 4.2% of high school students in Virginia 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, 6.4% of high school students in Virginia smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.0%.2

• Virginia received $304.4 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2019.4
• Of this, the state allocated $10.8 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2019, 11.8% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $3.11 billion per year.4
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $3.06 billion per year.5

Tobacco taxes

• Virginia is ranked 50th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of 30 cents per pack (enacted July 2005), compared to 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
• Moist snuff is taxed at 18 cents per ounce.
• Loose-leaf tobacco is taxed at 21 cents for a single unit, 40 cents for a half-pound unit, 70 cents for a pound-unit or 21 cents for all other units, pouches or packages, plus an additional 21 cents for each 4-ounce increment over a pound.
• All other tobacco products are taxed at 10% of the manufacturers’ sales price.6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in schools (public schools only) and childcare facilities (excludes home-based child care providers).6,7
• Smoking restrictions are required in government workplaces, restaurants, bars, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.6,7
• There are no smoking restrictions in private workplaces or casinos/gaming establishments.6,7
• School boards are required to implement policies that prohibit e-cigarettes use on school buses, school property and at school-sponsored activities.9

Youth access laws

• The minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Virginia 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
• Minors are prohibited from buying bidis and/or alternative nicotine products, including -e-cigarettes.6

• The CDC estimates 53.5% of daily adult smokers in Virginia quit smoking for one or more days in 2017.3
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications. However, there is not yet evidence that the Virginia Medicaid program has complied with this requirement regarding NRT nasal spray, NRT lozenge, NRT inhaler and Varenicline (Chantix).7±
• Virginia’s state quit line invests 51 cents per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.21.7
• Virginia does not have a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.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 cessation 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 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.