Fact Sheet

Tobacco use: Massachusetts 2026

Topic

Smoking by Region

Subtopic

State Facts

Cigarette use: Massachusetts*

In 2024, 8.8% of adults in Massachusetts smoked. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 11.6%.
In 2023, 3.4% of high school students in Massachusetts smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 3.5%

Other tobacco product use: Massachusetts*

In 2024, 5.6% of adults in Massachusetts used e-cigarettes. Nationally, adult e-cigarette use prevalence was 8.0%
In 2024, 1.4% of adults in Massachusetts used smokeless tobacco every day or some days. Nationally, adult smokeless tobacco use prevalence was 3.4%.
In 2023, 18.3% of high school students in Massachusetts used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, e-cigarette use prevalence among high school students was 18.0%.

Economics of tobacco use and tobacco control

Massachusetts received $551.3 million (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2026.
Of this, the state allocated $11.1 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2026, 16.6% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual spending target.
Smoking-caused health care costs: $4.74 billion per year.
Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $7 billion per year.

Massachusetts tobacco laws

Tobacco taxes

Massachusetts is ranked 7th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $3.51 per pack (enacted July 2013), compared to the national average of $2.05. (New York has the highest tax at $5.35 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)
Little cigars are taxed at $3.51 per 20 cigars. Smokeless tobacco is taxed at 210% of the wholesale price. Cigars and smoking tobacco are taxed at 40% of the wholesale price. Electronic nicotine delivery systems are taxed at 75% of the wholesale price.

Clean indoor air ordinances

Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars (allowed in smoking bars), and retail stores.
E-cigarettes are included in the state's indoor air laws and the state's definition of smoking and tobacco products.

Flavor restrictions

The sale of all flavored tobacco products is prohibited, except in smoking bars. Smoking bars, which include cigar lounges and hookah bars, are establishments that exclusively occupies an enclosed indoor space and is primarily engaged in the retail sale of tobacco products for consumption by customers on the premises.

Licensing laws

Retailers and wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.
A license is required to sell e-cigarette products for retailers and distributors.
The sale of tobacco products in pharmacies is prohibited.

Youth access laws

In December 2019, the United States adopted a law raising the federal minimum age of sale of all tobacco products to 21, effective immediately.
Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to people under 21 are prohibited.
Self-service tobacco product displays are prohibited except in adult-only retail stores.
Free distribution or samples of electronic smoking devices is prohibited, as is the distribution of free samples in commercial establishments (except retail tobacco stores or smoking bars).
Mail-order or internet sales of electronic smoking devices is prohibited unless the retailer requires age-verification and signature by a person of legal sales age upon receipt.

Local tobacco laws

17 towns have enacted Nicotine-Free Generation Laws: Brookline, Belchertown, Chelsea, Concord, Conway, Hopkinton, Malden, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Pelham, Reading, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester.
Bellingham, Blackstone, Deham, and Hull prohibit the sale of all e-cigarettes. Malden prohibits the sale of all e-cigarettes, except in adult-only retail tobacco stores.
The use of smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products at public and private sports venues in Boston, including Fenway Park, is prohibited.
Effective September 1, 2025, Southborough allows the sale of nicotine pouches in adult-only retail tobacco stores only.
Williamstown bans smoking or vaping tobacco products in apartments with more than four units, making it the first municipal smokefree housing law passed outside of California.

Quitting statistics and benefits

The CDC estimates 44.8% of daily adult smokers in Massachusetts quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.
In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications.**
Massachusetts's state quit line invests $1.06 per smoker, compared to the national median of $2.62.
Massachusetts has a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.

Notes and references

Updated March 2026

*The datasets for both adults and youth prevalence were used to make direct comparisons at the state and national levels. National prevalence reported here may differ from what is reported in our national-level fact sheets. The numbers here also reflect the most recent data available. Dates of available data may differ across state fact sheets.

**The seven recommended cessation medications are NRT gum, NRT patch, NRT nasal spray, NRT inhaler, NRT lozenge, Varenicline (Chantix) and Bupropion (Zyban).

Fiore MC, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service: May 2008.

CDC. (2024). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
CDC. (2023). High School Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (2026). Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 27 Years Later. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what-we-do/us/statereport
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (2024). The Toll of Tobacco in the United States. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
American Lung Association. (2024). State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI).
American Lung Association. (2026). State of Tobacco Control. https://www.lung.org/research/sotc
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (2024). State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings. https://assets.tobaccofreekids.org/factsheets/0097.pdf
Public Health Law Center. (2024, June 15). U.S. E-Cigarette Regulations: 50 State Review. https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review
Truth Initiative. (2024, June 30). Local restrictions on flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products. https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/local-restrictions-flavored-tobacco-and-e-cigarette
American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. (2024). Municipalities with Tobacco-Free Pharmacy Laws. https://no-smoke.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/pharmacies.pdf
FDA. (2024). Tobacco 21. https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/retail-sales-tobacco-products/tobacco-21
Borkhetaria, B. (2025, July 15). Mass. Lawmakers weigh a statewide age-based nicotine ban. CommonWealth Beacon. https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/mass-lawmakers-weigh-a-statewide-age-based-nicotine-ban/
Knock Tobacco Out of the Park. (2024). https://tobaccofreebaseball.org/
Ringel, J. S., Wasserman, J., & Andreyeva, T. (2025). Regulation of the Southborough Board of Health Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products. American Journal of Public Health, 95(6), 995–998. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2003.030411
Town of Williamstown, MA: Smoking; Restricting Sale of Tobacco Products. (n.d.). Town of Williamstown, MA Code. Retrieved October 23, 2025, from https://ecode360.com/10816800
CDC. (2024). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System.