Prevalence of Tobacco Use in Wyoming
Youth Cigarette Smoking and Vaping
National comparisons for youth smoking and vaping rates are not available (see Methods Appendix). In Wyoming, the percentage of high school students who smoke declined by more than half (52%) between 2004 and 2018, based on smoking one or more days during the 30 days before the survey was administered. (Figure 1; Prevention Needs Assessment [PNA], 2018). Efforts by the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), the CDC, and other public health organizations (e.g., Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids) likely played a role in this success for tobacco prevention.
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; also known as e-cigarettes, e-cigs, or vape pens) are battery powered devices that create an aerosol by heating a liquid instead of making smoke by burning tobacco. Contents of the liquid vary across products, and some models allow for customized liquids. Many ENDS liquids contain nicotine. In 2018, 36% of Wyoming high school students currently vaped (used ENDS at least once in the previous 30 days). This rate is higher than current use of any other substances of abuse on the PNA, including alcohol and other drugs, presenting a new challenge for tobacco prevention in Wyoming (PNA, 2018).
Adult Cigarette Smoking and Vaping
Current smokers are those who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke every day or some days. According to the 2017 BRFSS, 19% of Wyoming adults are current smokers, slightly more than the national median of 17%. Wyoming has the 18th highest smoking rate of all the states, territories, and Washington, DC (range 9%–26%). In the region, South Dakota has a similar smoking rate and Montana has a smoking rate that, though slightly lower, is not significantly different from Wyoming’s.
The other four states in the region have significantly lower smoking rates than Wyoming (Table 1). The smoking rate in Wyoming has declined by almost one fifth, 18%, since 2011, when the smoking rate recently peaked at 23%. WDH efforts, the efforts of the CDC, and the efforts of other public health organizations (e.g., American Cancer Society) probably contributed to this success in tobacco prevention.
In both 2016 and 2017, 6% of Wyoming adults currently vaped (used ENDS some days or every day). This is similar to both the 2017 national median of 5% and the rates for all bordering states (Table 1). The lowest vaping rate is 1% in Puerto Rico; the highest is 7% in Oklahoma; six states have vaping rates that round to 6% (BRFSS, 2017).
Adult Use of Other Tobacco
In 2017, 9% of Wyoming adults reported using chewing tobacco, snuff, or snus every day or some days, compared to 4% of U.S. adults. Wyoming’s rate of adult smokeless tobacco use was the highest in the nation. In Wyoming, adult men (17%) are much more likely than adult women (1%) to
use smokeless tobacco. Wyoming’s percentage of men who use smokeless tobacco is second highest in the nation (slightly behind West Virginia with a rate that also rounds to 17%), and compares to a national median of 7%. For Wyoming men, the slight difference between the 2017 rate and the 2013 rate (16%, the oldest available year) was not significant (BRFSS, 2017).
In 2017, 6% of Wyoming adults had used cigars or cigarillos at least once in the past 30 days, an estimate that has not varied significantly since it was 8% in 2010, the first year questions regarding cigars/cigarillos were asked (WYSAC, 2018a).
