Tobacco use in Wyoming 2021

• In 2020, 18.5% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 15.5%.¹
• In 2015, 15.7% of high school students in Wyoming smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 10.8% in 2015.²

• In 2018, 6.5% of adults in Wyoming used e-cigarettes. ³
• In 2020, 8.9% of adults in Wyoming used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2015, 29.6% of high school students in Wyoming used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 24.1%.²
• In 2015, 11.6% of high school students in Wyoming used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 7.3%.²
• In 2015, 12.6% of high school students in Wyoming smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 10.3%.²

• Wyoming received $39.2 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2021.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $2.4 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2021, 27.7% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $258 million per year.⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $202.4 million per year.⁵

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 $1.91. (The District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)^6-8
• Moist snuff is taxed at 60 cents for up to an ounce and a proportionate rate on any fractional parts more than an ounce.
• All other cigars, snuff and other tobacco products are taxed at 20% 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
• E-cigarette use is prohibited in child care facilities when children are present.⁹

Licensing laws

• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. Retailers may be required to obtain a local license to sell tobacco products.⁶
• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license 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.
• The sales, distribution, and delivery of e-cigarettes to underage persons is prohibited.⁹
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to underage consumers are prohibited.⁶
• Underage consumers are prohibited from buying, possessing, and using e-cigarettes.⁶, ⁹
• Self-service displays and vending machine sales of e-cigarettes are restricted to locations inaccessible to underage persons.
• Remote sales require third party verification and the signature of a person who is at least 21 years old upon receipt. ⁹

• The CDC estimates 46.1% of daily adult smokers in Wyoming 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 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 $7.03 per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.28.⁷
• Wyoming 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, 2015.

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.