Tobacco use in Michigan 2021

• In 2020, 18.4% of adults smoked. Nationally, the rate was 15.5%.¹
• In 2019, 4.5% of high school students in Michigan smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 6.0%.²

• In 2017, 4.9% of adults in Michigan used e-cigarettes.³
• In 2020, 2.8% of adults in Michigan used smokeless tobacco.³
• In 2019, 20.8% of high school students in Michigan used electronic vapor products on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 32.7%.²
• In 2019, 2.9% of high school students in Michigan used chewing tobacco, snuff or dip on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 3.8%.²
• In 2019, 5.2% of high school students in Michigan smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 5.7%.²

• Michigan received $1.18 billion (estimated) in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in fiscal year 2021.⁴
• Of this, the state allocated $1.8 million in state funds to tobacco prevention in fiscal year 2021, 1.7% of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spending target.⁴
• Smoking-caused health care costs: $4.59 billion per year.⁴
• Smoking-caused losses in productivity: $4.78 billion per year.⁵

Tobacco taxes

• Michigan is ranked 19th in the U.S. for its cigarette tax of $2.00 per pack (enacted July 2004), compared to the national average of $1.91. (The District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 and Missouri has the lowest at 17 cents.)^6-8
• Cigars are taxed 32% of the wholesale price, not to exceed 50 cents per cigar. Non-cigarette smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco are taxed 32% of the wholesale price.^6,7

Clean indoor air ordinances

• Smoking is prohibited in all government workplaces, private workplaces, schools, childcare facilities, restaurants, bars (except in cigar bars), retail stores and recreational/cultural facilities.⁷
• Smoking restrictions are required in casinos/gaming establishments (tribal establishments are exempt).⁷
• The use of e-cigarettes is prohibited in the state’s Third Judicial Circuit Court and on child care center property and in homes and vehicles used to transport children in care when in operation for child care.⁹

Licensing laws

• Wholesalers are required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. Retailers are not required to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.⁶
• A license is not required to sell e-cigarette products.⁹

Youth access laws

• Effective December 2019, the United States adopted a law raising the federal minimum age of sale of all tobacco products to 21.  Some states have not yet raised their state minimum age of sale, however, the federal law takes precedence.
• Establishments are required to post signs stating that sales to minors are prohibited.⁶
• The sale of vapor products to underage persons is prohibited. ⁹
• Underage persons are prohibited from buying or possessing vapor products or using vapor products in a public place. ⁹
• Internet sales of vapor products is permitted after the verifying purchaser is at least 18 years old through a third-party service. ⁹

• The CDC estimates 51.2% of daily adult smokers in Michigan quit smoking for one or more days in 2019.³
• In 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs cover all tobacco cessation medications.^7**
• Michigan’s state quit line invests 58 cents per smoker, compared to the national average of $2.28.⁷
• Michigan does not have a private insurance mandate provision for cessation.⁷

Updated August 2021

*National and state-level prevalence numbers reflect the most recent data available. This 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.

1. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020.

2. CDC, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, 2019.

3. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, 2021.

4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Broken Promises to Our Children: a State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 22 Years Later FY2021, 2020.

5. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Toll of Tobacco in the United States.

6. American Lung Association, State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI).

7. American Lung Association, State of Tobacco Control, 2021.

8. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates & Rankings. https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0097.pdf. Accessed.

9. Public Health Law Center. U.S. E-Cigarette Regulation: 50-State Review. http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review. Accessed.