Tobacco use in Ohio 2021

• In 2020, 19.3% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 15.5%.¹
• In 2019, 4.9% of high school students in Ohio smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 6.0%.²

• In 2018, 5.4% of adults in Ohio used e-cigarettes. ³
• In 2020,  4.1% of adults in Ohio used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2019, 29.8% of high school students in Ohio used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 32.7%.²
• In 2019, 9.9% of high school students in Ohio used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.8%.²
• In 2019, 7.2% of high school students in Ohio smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 5.7%.²

• Ohio received $1.26 billion (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2021.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $12.3 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2021, 9.3% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $5.64 billion per year.⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $5.88 billion per year.⁵

Tobacco taxes

• Ohio is ranked 29th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.60 per pack (enacted July 2015), compared to the national average of $1.91. (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 a rate of 37% of the wholesale price. Premium cigars are taxed at the lesser of 17% of the wholesale price or 50 cents per cigar, plus a specified tax adjustment factor applied annually. All other tobacco products are taxed at a rate of 17% of the wholesale price.^6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, casinos/gaming establishments, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.^6,7
• The use of e-cigarettes is prohibited at the state capitol buildings and in body art establishment rooms used for body art or sterilization procedures. E-cigarettes are also prohibited on various college and university campuses by regulation. Assisted living providers are prohibited from using e-cigarettes while providing care.⁹

Licensing laws

• Retailers are required to obtain a license to sell cigarettes but are not required to obtain a license to sell other tobacco products. Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.⁶
• A license is required to sell e-cigarette products.⁹

Youth access laws

• Effective December 2019, the United States adopted a law raising the federal minimum age of sale of all tobacco products to 21.  Some states have not yet raised their state minimum age of sale, however, the federal law takes precedence.
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that the sale or distribution of tobacco products and alternative nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, to underage persons is prohibited.^6,9
• Underage persons are prohibited from buying, possessing, and using alternative nicotine products unless a parent, spouse, or legal guardian over age 21 accompanies them.^{6, 9}
• Vending machine sales of alternative nicotine products is restricted to locations inaccessible to underage persons or under control of the owner. ⁹
• Only licensed secondary manufacturers can reconstitute, dilute, or reprocess vapor products for resale to consumers. ⁹

Local tobacco control laws

• Bexley and Toledo prohibit the sale of flavored vaping products.¹⁰

• The CDC estimates 47.9% of daily adult smokers in Ohio quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.³
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications.^7**
• Ohio’s state quit line invests $1.24 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.28.⁷
• Ohio does not have a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.⁷

Updated August 2021

*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, 2020.

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

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

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 FY2021, 2020.

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, 2021.

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.