Tobacco use in Kansas 2023

• In 2022, 14.5% of adults in Kansas smoked. Nationally, adult smoking prevalence was 14.0%.¹
• In 2021, 4.6% of high school students in Kansas smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, smoking prevalence among high school students was 3.8%.²

• In 2022, 8.1% of adults in Kansas used e-cigarettes. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 7.7%¹.
• In 2022, 5.1% of adults in Kansas used smokeless tobacco every day or some days. Nationally, adult smokeless tobacco use prevalence 3.4%. ¹
• In 2021, 14.4% of high school students in Kansas used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, e-cigarette use prevalence among high school students was 18%.²
• In 2021, 3.6% of high school students in Kansas 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 2.5%.²
• In 2021, 3.2% of high school students in Kansas smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, cigarette use prevalence among high school students was 3.1%.²

• Kansas received $180.5 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2022.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $1.0 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2022, 3.6% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-related health care costs: $1.31 billion per year⁴
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $2.9 billion per year⁵

Tobacco taxes

• Kansas is ranked 34th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.29 per pack (enacted July 2015), 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
• E-cigarettes are taxed at 5 cents per milliliter of consumable material. All other tobacco products are taxed at 10% of the wholesale price.^6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.⁷
• Smoking restrictions are required in casinos/gaming establishments (casino floors and tribal establishments are exempt).⁷
• There are no smoke-free restrictions for e-cigarette use.⁹

Licensing laws

• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. Retailers are required to obtain a license to sell cigarettes, but are not required to obtain a license to sell other tobacco products except e-cigarettes.⁶
• Retailers and vending machine distributors 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.^6,7
• The sale/distribution and purchase/possession of electronic cigarettes to/by persons under age 1 is prohibited.⁹
• Possession or distribution of electronic cigarettes is prohibited at juvenile correctional facilities or institutions.⁹

• The CDC estimates 48.5% of daily adult smokers in Kansas 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**
• Kansas’s state quit line invests .52 cents per smoker, compared with the national median of $2.37.⁷
• Kansas does not have 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, 2022.

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 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.