Tobacco & Vaping 101: Colorado

Lawmakers are often bombarded with misinformation on the products used by adults in their state. This annual analysis provides up-to-date data on the adults who use cigarettes and e-cigarette products in the Centennial State. This information aslo includes data on youth use, impacts of e-cigarettes and analyses of existing tobacco monies.

Key Points: 

• In 2022, an estimated 494,806 adults (10.7 percent) were currently smoking. This a 10.8 percent decrease from 2021 and represents 53,428 fewer adults smoking.
• In 2022 (among all Colorado adults), 7.1 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, 13.1 percent of 25–44-year-olds, 11.9 percent of 45–64-year-olds, and 6.8 percent of adults aged 65 years or older were currently smoking combustible cigarettes.
• Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2022, 22.1 percent were currently smoking compared to only 5.9 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
• Among all smoking adults in Colorado in 2022, 61.3 percent were White, 24.7 percent were Hispanic, 6.4 percent were Black, four percent were American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2.4 percent were Multiracial (non-Hispanic), and 1.1 percent were Asian.
• In 2022, 383,821 Colorado adults (8.3 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This a 22.1 percent increase from 2021 and represents 73,155 additional adults vaping.
• Among all vaping adults in Colorado in 2022, 34.7 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 50.2 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 12.7 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 2.5 percent were 65 years or older.
• In 2021, for every one Colorado high school student who was smoking, more than 43 adults were currently using cigarettes.
• In 2021, for every one Colorado high school student who was vaping, more than six adults were currently using e-cigarettes.
• The introduction of e-cigarettes has not led to increases in cigarette smoking, but rather, correlates with significant declines in smoking rates among young adults.
• Between 2018 and 2022, smoking rates among Colorado adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 51.7 percent.
• Cigarette excise taxes in Colorado disproportionately impact low income and low educated persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
• The percentage of Colorado adults earning $25,000 or less that were smoking increased by 11.4 percent between 2021 and 2022, while the percent of adults earning $50,000 or more that were smoking decreased by 12.4 percent during the same period.
• Among Colorado adults who did not graduate high school, smoking rates decreased by 10.9 percent, and rates among adults with a college degree decreased by 9.1 percent.
• Colorado woefully underfunds programs to prevent youth use of tobacco and/or vapor products and help adults quit smoking, while simultaneously receiving millions of dollars from the pockets of the adults who smoke. In 2022, for every $1 the state received in tobacco monies, it spent only $0.06 on tobacco control efforts.