Tobacco use in Colorado 2023

• In 2021, 12% of adults in Colorado smoked. Nationally, the rate was 14.4%.¹
• In 2021, 4.5% of high school students in Colorado smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.8%.²

• In 2021, 6.8% of adults in Colorado used e-cigarettes.³
• In 2021, 3.9% of adults in Colorado used smokeless tobacco every day or some days. ¹
• In 2021, 18.5% of high school students in Colorado used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 18.0%.²
• In 2021, 4.6% of high school students in Colorado used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 2.5%.²
• In 2021, 4.8% of high school students in Colorado smoke cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.1%.²

• Colorado received $412.3 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2022.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $24.7 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2022, 46.7% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-related health care costs: $2.19 billion per year.⁴
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $4.4 billion per year.⁵

Tobacco taxes

• Colorado is ranked 24th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.94 per pack,(enacted January 2021), 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
• Nicotine products are taxed at 35% of the manufacturer’s list price. Nicotine products that have received a modified risk tobacco product designation from the FDA are taxed at 17.5% of the manufacturer’s list price. Other tobacco products that have received a modified risk tobacco designation from the FDA are taxed at 35% of the manufacturer’s list price. All other tobacco products are taxed at 50% of the manufacturer’s list price.^6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government and private workplaces (certain marijuana establishments exempt), schools, childcare facilities, retail stores, recreational/cultural facilities, restaurants (certain marijuana establishments exempt), bars (cigar/tobacco bars are exempt) and casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments are exempt).^6,7
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s clean indoor air law (certain marijuana establishments exempt).⁹

Licensing laws

• Retailers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. Wholesalers and distributors are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.⁶
• A license is required 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
• A retailer licensed to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or nicotine products may deliver such products to persons 21 years of age or older if: 1) the person receiving the delivery is located at a place that is not licensed; 2) the delivery is made by an owner or employee of the licensed retailer who is at least 21 years of age; and 3) the person making the delivery verifies that the person receiving such products is 21 years of age or older by requiring the presentation of a government-issued photographic ID.⁶

Local tobacco laws

• Aspen, Carbondale, Edgewater, Glenwood Springs, and Snowmass Village prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products.¹⁰ Boulder prohibits the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.¹⁰

• The CDC estimates 49.6% of daily adult smokers in Colorado quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.³
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.⁷**
• Colorado’s state quit line invests $6.43 per smoker, compared with the national median of $2.37.⁷
• Colorado has a private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.⁷

Updated June 2023

*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, 2021.

2.         CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2021.

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 22 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.

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.

10.       Truth Initiative, Local restrictions on flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products. https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/local-restrictions-flavored-tobacco-and-e-cigarette.