Tobacco & Vaping 101: Connecticut

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 Constitution 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 289,518 adults (10 percent) were currently smoking. This a 9.9 percent decrease from 2021 and represents 29,706 fewer adults smoking.
• In 2022 (among all Connecticut adults), 6.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, 11.2 percent of 25–44-year-olds, 12.5 percent of 45–64-year-olds, and 7.1 percent of adults aged 65 years or older were currently smoking combustible cigarettes.
• Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2022, 19.9 percent were currently smoking compared to only 6.9 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
• Among all smoking adults in Connecticut in 2022, 63.3 percent were White, 19.4 percent were Hispanic, 12.7 percent were Black, 2.5 percent were Asian, and 2.2 percent were Multiracial (non-Hispanic).
• In 2022, 162,130 Connecticut adults (5.6 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This a five percent increase from 2021 and represents 18,335 additional adults vaping.
• Among all vaping adults in Connecticut in 2022, 35.8 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 43.6 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 15.4 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 5.2 percent were 65 years or older.
• In 2021, for every one Connecticut high school student who was smoking, more than 150 adults were currently using cigarettes.
• In 2021, for every one Connecticut high school student who was vaping, more than eight 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 Connecticut adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 37.6 percent.
• Cigarette excise taxes in Connecticut disproportionately impact low income and low educated persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
• The percentage of Connecticut adults earning $25,000 or less that were smoking decreased by 8.1 percent between 2017 and 2022, while the percent of adults earning $50,000 or more that were smoking decreased by 23.7 percent during the same period.
• Among Connecticut adults who did not graduate high school, smoking rates decreased by 16.7 percent, and rates among adults with a college degree decreased by 16.3 percent.
• Connecticut 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 $0.00 on tobacco control efforts.