Tobacco & Vaping 101: United States

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 United States. This information aslo includes data on youth use, impacts of e-cigarettes and analyses of existing tobacco monies.

Key Points: 

• In 2022, 35.7 million U.S. adults (13.7 percent) were currently smoking. This is a 4.9 percent decrease from 2021 and represents 1.6 million fewer adults smoking.
• In 2022 (among all United State adults), 7.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, 16.6 percent of 25–44-year-olds, 16.6 percent of 45–64-year-olds, and nine percent of adults aged 65 years or older were currently smoking combustible cigarettes.
• Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2022, 26.3 percent were currently smoking compared to only 8.4 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
• Among all smoking adults the United States in 2022, 65.9 percent were White, 11 percent were Black, 10.6 percent were Hispanic, 5.1 percent were Multiracial (non-Hispanic), 3.9 percent were American Indian/Native Alaska, 2.1 percent were Asian, and 1.3 percent were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
• In 2022, 20.3 million U.S. adults (7.8 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This is a 15.9 percent increase from 2021 and represents 2.9 million additional adults vaping.
• Among all vaping adults in the United States in 2022, 30.7 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 50.1 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 15.4 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 3.7 percent were 65 years or older.
• In 2021, for every one U.S. high school student who was smoking, more than 63 adults were currently using cigarettes.
• In 2021, for every one U.S. 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 U.S. adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 41.8 percent.
• Cigarette excise taxes in the United States disproportionately impact low income, low education persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
• The percentage of U.S. adults earning $25,000 or less that were smoking decreased by 7.1 percent between 2009 and 2022, while the percent of adults earning $50,000 or more that were smoking decreased by 29.9 percent during the same period.
• Among U.S. adults who did not graduate high school, smoking rates decreased by 10.3 percent, yet rates among adults with a college degree decreased by 33.9 percent.
• U.S. states and Washington, D.C. woefully underfund 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 states and Washington, D.C. received in tobacco monies, they spent only $0.03 on tobacco control efforts.