Tobacco use in Utah 2018

Cigarette use: Utah*

• In 2016, 8.8 percent of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1 percent.¹
• In 2017, 3.8 percent of high school students smoked on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8.8 percent.²

Other tobacco product use: Utah

• In 2015, 3.1 percent of adults used e-cigarettes, 1.3 percent used smokeless tobacco and 1.0 percent smoked cigars.³
• In 2017, 7.6 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes, 3.0 percent used smokeless tobacco and 3.2 percent smoked cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rates were 13.2 percent, 5.5 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively.²

Economics of tobacco use and tobacco control

• Utah received $144.6 million (estimated) in tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2018.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $7.2 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2018, just 37.4 percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $542 million per year⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $355.6 million per year⁵

Utah tobacco laws

Tobacco taxes

• Utah is ranked 23rd in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $1.70 per pack (enacted July 2010), compared to the national average of $1.73. (Connecticut and New York have the highest tax at $4.35 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)⁶ ⁷ ⁸
• Little cigars are taxed at 8.5 cents per cigar. Moist snuff is taxed at $1.83 per ounce. All other tobacco products are taxed at 86 percent of the manufacturer’s selling price.⁶ ⁷

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.⁶ ⁷

Youth access laws

• The minimum age of sale for tobacco products in Utah is 19.⁷
• Only sales clerks are allowed access to tobacco products prior to sale.⁶
• Minors are prohibited from buying e-cigarettes.⁶

Quitting statistics and benefits

• The CDC estimates that 46.5 percent of daily adult smokers in Utah quit smoking for one or more days in 2016.⁹
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications.⁷
• Utah’s state quit line invests $6.62 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.10.⁷**
• Most private health plans in Utah have a mandate provision for quitting tobacco.⁷

Notes and references

Updated June 2018

* 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, 2016.
2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2017.
3. CDC, State-Specific Prevalence of Tobacco Product Use Among Adults - United States, 2014-2015, MMWR.
4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 19 Years Later FY2018, 2017.
5. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Toll of Tobacco in the United States, 2018.
6. American Lung Association, SLATI State Reports, 2017.
7. American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2018.
8. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings, 2018.
9. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2016.