Tobacco & Vaping 101: New York

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 Empire 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 1.8 million adults (11.3 percent) were currently smoking. This is a 12.2 percent decrease from 2021 and represents 113,982 fewer adults smoking.
• In 2022 (among all New York adults), 5.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, 13.4 percent of 25–44-year-olds, 13.3 percent of 45–64-year-olds, and 8.1 percent of adults aged 65 years or older were currently smoking combustible cigarettes.
• Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2022, 18.4 percent were currently smoking compared to only 7.6 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
• Among all smoking adults in New York in 2022, 57.6 percent were White, 18.7 percent were Hispanic, 11.9 percent were Black, 4.6 percent were Multiracial (non-Hispanic), 5.7 were Asian, and 1.6 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native.
• In 2022, 1.1 million New York adults (7.2 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This a 35.8 percent increase from 2021 and represents 296,229 additional adults vaping.
• Among all vaping adults in New York in 2022, 26.2 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 51.9 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 19 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 2.9 percent were 65 years or older.
• In 2021, for every one New York high school student who was smoking, more than 47 adults were currently using cigarettes.
• In 2021, for every one New York 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 New York adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 33.7 percent.
• Cigarette excise taxes in New York disproportionately impact low income and low educated persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
• The percentage of New York adults earning $25,000 or less that were smoking decreased by 24.6 percent between 2010 and 2022, while the percent of adults earning $50,000 or more that were smoking decreased by 40.2 percent during the same period.
• Among New York adults who did not graduate high school, smoking rates decreased by 17.1 percent, and rates among adults with a college degree decreased by 24.6 percent.
• New York 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 $0.02 on tobacco control efforts.