Tobacco & Vaping 101: Washington

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 Evergreen 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 613,921 adults (10 percent) were currently smoking. This is a 7.4 percent decrease from 2021 and represents 40,836 fewer adults smoking.
• In 2022 (among all Washington adults), 5.2 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, 11.3 percent of 25–44-year-olds, 12.2 percent of 45–64-year-olds, and 7.3 percent of adults aged 65 years or older were currently smoking combustible cigarettes.
• Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2022, 22.5 percent were currently smoking compared to only 6.1 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
• Among all smoking adults in Washington in 2022, 67 percent were White, 10.7 percent were Hispanic, 9.3 percent were Multiracial (non-Hispanic), 4.5 percent were Black, 4.2 percent were Asian, three percent were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 1.2 percent were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
• In 2022, 435,884 Washington adults (7.1 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This a 9.2 percent increase from 2021 and represents 41,817 additional adults vaping.
• Among all vaping adults in Washington in 2022, 26.3 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 53.2 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 17.2 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 3.4 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 Washington adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 16.7 percent.
• Cigarette excise taxes in Washington disproportionately impact low income and low educated persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
• The percentage of Washington adults earning $25,000 or less that were smoking decreased by 20.8 percent between 2010 and 2022, while the percent of adults earning $50,000 or more that were smoking decreased by 39 percent during the same period.
• Among Washington adults who did not graduate high school, smoking rates decreased by 24.4 percent, and rates among adults with a college degree decreased by 45 percent.
• Washington 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 less than $0.01 on tobacco control efforts.