Tobacco use in New Hampshire 2019

• In 2017, 15.7% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1%.¹
• In 2017, 7.8% of high school students in New Hampshire smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.8%.²

• In 2017, 4.6% of adults used e-cigarettes and 1.9% used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2017, 23.8% of high school students in New Hampshire used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 13.2%.²
• In 2017, 9.5% of high school students in New Hampshire smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.0%.²

• New Hampshire received $254.9 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2019.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $140,000 in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2019, 0.8% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $790 million per year.⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $506.9 million per year.⁵

Tobacco taxes

• New Hampshire is ranked 24th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.78 per pack (enacted August 2013), compared to the national average of $1.81. (The District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)^6-8
• Little cigars are taxed at $1.78 per 20 cigars.
• Roll-your-own tobacco is taxed at 0.89 cent per 0.09 ounces.
• Loose tobacco, smokeless tobacco, snuff and cigars (not including premium cigars) are taxed at 65.03% of the wholesale sales price.⁶

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all public schools, childcare facilities, restaurants and bars (allowed in cigar shops and allows for an economic hardship waiver).^6,7
• Smoking restrictions are required in government workplaces, private workplaces, casinos/gaming establishments, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.^6,7
• E-cigarettes is included in the state’s definition of smoking.⁹

Youth access laws

• The minimum age to purchase tobacco products in New Hampshire is 21. 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 e-cigarettes.⁶

Local tobacco laws

• Dover and Keene have prohibited the sale of tobacco products to people under age 21.¹⁰

• The CDC estimates 49.1% of daily adult smokers in New Hampshire quit smoking for one or more days in 2017.³
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications.^7**
• New Hampshire’s state quit line invests $2.12 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.21.⁷
• New Hampshire does not have a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.⁷

Updated April 2019

*National and state-level prevalence numbers reflect the most recent data available. This may differ across state fact sheets.

**The seven recommended cessation 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, 2017.

2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017.

3. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2017.

4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 20 Years Later FY2019, 2018.

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, 2019.

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

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.

10. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. States and Localities that have Raised the Minimum Legal Sales Age for Tobacco Products to 21.  https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/state_local_issues/sales_21/states_localities_MLSA_21.pdf.