Tobacco use in Oregon 2020

• In 2018, 15.6% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 16.1%.¹
• In 2015, 8.8% of high school students in Oregon smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 10.8% in 2015.²

• In 2018, 5.4% of adults in Oregon used e-cigarettes and 4.3% used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2019, 21.4% of 11th graders in Oregon used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days.⁴
• In 2019, 2.5% of 11th graders in Oregon used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days.⁴
• In 2019, 2.7% of 11th graders in Oregon smoked little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days.⁴
• In 2019, 1.3% of 11th graders in Oregon smoked large cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days.⁴

• Oregon received $338.2 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2020.⁵
• Of this, the state allocated $9.4 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2020, 23.9% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁵
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $1.54  billion per year.⁵
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $1.37 billion per year.⁶

Tobacco taxes

• Oregon is ranked 32nd in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.33 per pack (enacted January 2018), compared to the national average of $1.82. (The District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)^7-9
• Cigars are taxed at 65% of the wholesale sales price of cigars (not to exceed 50 cents per cigar).
• Moist snuff is taxed at $1.78 per ounce, except that the minimum tax per retail container is $2.14.
• All other tobacco products are taxed at 65% of the wholesale sales price.^7,8

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars (allowed in cigar bars), casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments exempt), retail stores (allowed in smoke shops) and recreational/cultural facilities.^7,8
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s clean indoor air law.¹⁰
• Use of e-cigarettes in a car while a person under the age of 18 is present is prohibited.¹⁰

Licensing laws

• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell cigarettes, but a license is not required to sell other tobacco products. Retailers are not required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.⁷
• A license is not required to sell e-cigarette products.¹⁰

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 the sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited.⁷
• Minors are prohibited from buying e-cigarettes.⁷

• The CDC estimates 48.3% of daily adult smokers in Oregon quit smoking for one or more days in 2018.³
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications.^8**
• Oregon’s state quit line invests 97 cents per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.14.⁸
• Oregon has a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.⁸

Updated August 2020

*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, 2018.

2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2015.

3. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2020.

4. Oregon Healthy Teens Survey, 2019.

5. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 21 Years Later FY2020, 2019.

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

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

8. American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2020.

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

10. 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.