Tobacco use in South Dakota 2021

• In 2020, 17.8% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 15.5%.¹
• In 2019, 12.0% of high school students in South Dakota smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 6.0%.²

• In 2018, 4.6% of adults in South Dakota used e-cigarettes. ³
• In 2020, 5.6% of adults in South Dakota used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2019, 23.9% of high school students in South Dakota used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 32.7%.²
• In 2019, 7.1% of high school students in South Dakota 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, 7.1% of high school students in South Dakota smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 5.7%.²

• South Dakota received $82.1 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2021.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $4.5 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2021, 38.5% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $373 million per year.⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $282.5 million per year.⁵

Tobacco taxes

• South Dakota is ranked 30th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.53 per pack (enacted January 2007), 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
• All other tobacco products are taxed at 35% of the wholesale price.^6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars (smoking of certain tobacco products allowed in certain bars), casinos/gaming establishments, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.^6,7
• E-cigarettes are included in the state’s definition of smoking.⁹

Licensing laws

• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. Retailers are not required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.⁶
• A license is not 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.
• Underage persons are prohibited from buying, possessing, and using e-cigarettes.^6,9
• The sale or distribution of vapor products, including e-cigarettes, to underage persons is prohibited. ⁹
• The distribution of free vapor products within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds, or other facilities primarily used by underage persons is prohibited. ⁹
• Self-service displays of vapor products are restricted to tobacco speciality stores or vending machines inaccessible to persons under age 21. ⁹

• The CDC estimates 39.8% of daily adult smokers in South Dakota 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. However, there is not enough evidence that the South Dakota Medicaid program has complied with this requirement regarding NRT gum, NRT patch, NRT nasal spray, NRT lozenge, and NRT inhaler.^7**
• South Dakota’s state quit line invests $15.48 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.28.⁷
• South Dakota 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.