Tobacco use in Alaska 2023

• In 2022, 15.9% of adults in Alaska smoked. Nationally, the rate was 14.0%.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 2022, 6.8% of adults in Alaska used e-cigarettes. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 7.7%.1
• In 2022, 5.8% of adults in Alaska used smokeless tobacco every day or some days. Nationally, adult smokeless tobacco use prevalence was 3.4%.1
• 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, e-cigarette use prevalence among high school students 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, smokeless tobacco use prevalence among high school students 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, cigar use prevalence among high school students was 5.7%.2

• Alaska received $76.9million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2022.4
• Of this, the state allocated $6.5 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2023, 63.5% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.4
• Smoking-related health care costs: $509 million per year.4
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $621.3 million per year.5

Tobacco taxes

• Alaska is ranked 19th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $2.00 per pack (enacted July 2007), compared with the national average of $1.93. (New York has the highest tax at $5.35 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 56.1% of daily adult smokers in Alaska quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.3
• In 2022, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.7**
• Alaska’s state quit line invests $6.67 per smoker, compared with the national median of $2.37.7
• Alaska does not have a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.7

Updated June 2023

* The datasets for both adults and youth prevalence were used to make direct comparisons at the state and national levels. National prevalence reported here may differ from what is reported in our national-level fact sheets. The numbers here also reflect the most recent data available. Dates of available data 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, 2022.

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

3.         CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2023.

4.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 24 Years Later FY2023, 2023.

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, 2023.

8.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings. https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0097.pdf. Accessed October 4th 2023.

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 October 4th 2023.