Tobacco use in Alaska 2020

• In 2018, 19.1% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 16.1%.1
• In 2019, 8.4% of high school students in Alaska smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 6.0%.2

• In 2018, 6.0% of adults in Alaska used e-cigarettes and 5.8% used smokeless tobacco.3
• In 2019, 26.1% of high school students in Alaska used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 32.7%.2
• In 2019, 10.0% of high school students in Alaska used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.8%.2
• In 2019, 4.6% of high school students in Alaska smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 5.7%.2

• Alaska received $82.2 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2020.4
• Of this, the state allocated $9.1 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2020, 89.6% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
• Smoking-related health care costs: $438 million per year.4
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $205.9 million per year.5

Tobacco taxes

• Alaska is ranked 17th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $2.00 per pack (enacted July 2007), compared with the national average of $1.82. (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 75% of the wholesale price.6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, retail stores, bars, restaurants and recreational/cultural facilities.7
• Smoking restrictions are not required in casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments only).7
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s definition of smoking.9

Licensing laws

• Retailers and wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.6
• Retailers and wholesalers are required to obtain a license 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.6
• Minors are prohibited from buying alternative nicotine products, including e-cigarettes.6

• The CDC estimates 52.3% of daily adult smokers in Alaska quit smoking for one or more days in 2018.3
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.7**
• Alaska’s state quit line invests $5.09 per smoker, compared with the national average of $2.14.7
• Alaska does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.7

Updated August 2020

* 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, 2018.

2.  CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2019.

3. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2020.

4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 21 Years Later FY2020, 2019.

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, 2020.

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

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.