Tobacco use in Indiana

Cigarette use: Indiana*

• In 2016, 21.1 percent of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1 percent.¹
• In 2015, 11.2 percent of high school students smoked on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 10.8 percent.²

Other tobacco product use: Indiana

• In 2015, 3.1 percent of adults used e-cigarettes, 2.2 percent used smokeless tobacco and 3.1 percent smoked cigars.³
• In 2015, 23.9 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes, 9.4 percent used smokeless tobacco and 11.4 percent smoked cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rates were 24.1 percent, 7.3 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.²

Economics of tobacco use and tobacco control

• Indiana received $568 million (estimated) in tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2018.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $7.5 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2018, just 10.2 percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-related health care costs: $2.93 per year⁴
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $3.17 billion per year⁵

Indiana tobacco laws

Tobacco taxes

• Indiana is ranked 38th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of 99.5 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes (enacted July 2007), compared with the national average of $1.73. (Connecticut and New York have the highest tax at $4.35 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.).⁶ ⁷ ⁸
• Moist snuff is taxed at 40 cents per ounce. All other tobacco products are taxed 24 percent of the wholesale price.⁶ ⁷

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, retail stores (retail tobacco and cigar specialty stores exempt) and recreational/cultural facilities.⁶ ⁷
• Smoking restrictions are required in bars.⁶ ⁷
• There are no smoking restrictions in casinos/gaming establishments.⁶ ⁷

Youth access laws

• The minimum age of sale for tobacco products is 18 and penalties exist for both minors and merchants who violate the law.⁶ ⁷
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to minors are prohibited.⁶ ⁷
• Minors are prohibited from buying electronic smoking devices, including e- cigarettes.⁶ ⁷

Quitting statistics and benefits

• The CDC estimates 48.3 percent of adult every day smokers in Indiana quit smoking for one or more days in 2016.⁹
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.⁷**
• Indiana’s state quit line invests $1.56 per smoker, compared with the national average of $2.10.⁷
• Indiana does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.⁷

Notes and references

Updated June 2018

*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, 2016.
2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2015.
3. CDC, State-Specific Prevalence of Tobacco Product Use Among Adults - United States, 2014-2015, MMWR.
4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 19 Years Later FY2018, 2017.
5. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Toll of Tobacco in the United States, 2018.
6. American Lung Association, SLATI State Reports, 2017.
7. American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2018.
8. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings, 2018.
9. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2016.