Tobacco use in Wyoming 2018

Cigarette use: Wyoming*

• In 2016, 19.0 percent of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 17.1 percent.¹
• In 2015, 15.7 percent of high school students smoked on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 10.8 percent.²

Other tobacco product use: Wyoming

• In 2015, 4.4 percent of adults used e-cigarettes, 6.4 percent used smokeless tobacco and 2.9 percent smoked cigars.³
• In 2015, 29.6 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes, 11.6 percent used smokeless tobacco and 12.6 percent smoked cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rates were 24.1 percent, 7.3 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.²

Economics of tobacco use and tobacco control

• Wyoming received $41.1 million (estimated) in tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2018.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $3.7 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2018, just 43.6 percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $258 million per year⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $202.4 million per year⁵

Wyoming tobacco laws

Tobacco taxes

• Wyoming is ranked 44th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of 60 cents per pack (enacted July 2003), 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
• Moist snuff is taxed at 60 cents for up to one ounce and a proportionate rate on any fractional parts of more than one ounce. Cigars, snuff and other tobacco products are taxed at 20 percent of the wholesale purchase price.⁶ ⁷

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking restrictions are required in government workplaces.⁶ ⁷
• There are no smoking restrictions for private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars, casinos/gaming establishments, retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.⁶ ⁷

Youth access laws

• The minimum age of sale for tobacco products in Wyoming is 18.⁷
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to minors are prohibited.⁶
• Minors are prohibited from buying e-cigarettes.⁶

Quitting statistics and benefits

• The CDC estimates that 45.7 percent of daily adult smokers in Wyoming quit smoking for one or more days in 2016.⁹
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all quit medications. However, there is not yet evidence that the Wyoming Medicaid program has complied with this requirement regarding NRT nasal spray and NRT inhaler.⁷**
• Wyoming’s state quit line invests $11.01 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.10.⁷
• Wyoming does not have a private insurance 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 Behavioral Surveillance System, 2015.
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.