Tobacco use in Maine 2023

• In 2022, 15.0% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 14.0%.1
• In 2021, 4.3% of high school students in Maine smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.8%.2

• In 2022, 6.1% of adults in Maine used e-cigarettes. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 7.7%1
• In 2022, 2.9% of adults in Maine used smokeless tobacco. Nationally, adult smokeless tobacco use prevalence was 3.4% 1
• In 2021, 17.5% of high school students in Maine used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, e-cigarette use prevalence among high school students was 18.0%.2
• In 2021, 2.3% of high school students in Maine 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, 2.7% of high school students in Maine smoke cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, cigar use prevalence among high school students was 3.1%.2

• Maine received $196 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2022.3
• Of this, the state allocated $15.9 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2022, 100% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.3
• Smoking-related health care costs: $942 million per year.3
• Smoking-related losses in productivity: $1.5 billion per year.4

Tobacco taxes

• Maine is ranked 19th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $2.00 per pack (enacted September 2005), 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.)5-7
• Smokeless tobacco, including chewing tobacco and snuff, is taxed at a minimum of $2.02 per ounce. All other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, are taxed at 43% of the wholesale sales price .6

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government and private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, retail stores, and recreational/cultural facilities.5,6
• Smoking restrictions are required in casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments are exempt).5,6
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s definition of smoking.8

Flavor restrictions

• The sale of cigars with characterizing flavors is banned. Characterizing flavor is defined as having a distinguishable taste or aroma of candy, chocolate, vanilla, fruit, berry, nut, herb, spice, honey, or an alcoholic drink. Menthol is exempted. Premium cigars, defined as cigars weighing more than three pounds per thousand cigars and wrapped in whole tobacco leaf, are exempt.9

Licensing laws

• Retailers and wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.5
• A license is required to sell e-cigarette products.8

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.5,6
• Minors are prohibited from buying electronic smoking devices, including e-cigarettes.5,6

Local tobacco laws

• Bangor, Bar Harbor, Brunswick, Portland, and South Portland prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products.10
• Rockland prohibits the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.10
• South Portland prohibits tobacco retailers within 1000 feet of schools and 300 feet from other areas including churches, parks, and childcare centers.11

• The CDC estimates 48.0% of daily adult smokers in Maine quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.10
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.6**
• Maine’s state quit line invests $23.72 per smoker, compared with the national median investment per smoker of $2.37.6
• Maine has no private insurance mandate provision for quitting tobacco.6

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, 2019.

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

3.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 22 Years Later FY2021, 2020.

4.         Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Toll of Tobacco in the United States.

5.         American Lung Association, State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI).

6.         American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2021.

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

8.         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.

9.         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.

10.       CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2021.

11.       Substitute Ordinance #9-19/20, Chapter 27. (2019)