| 07.18.2025

Reports |

2023 Wyoming Adult Tobacco Survey

Wyoming Adults’ Use of and Attitudes about Commercial Tobacco and Nicotine Products

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Background

In this report, we refer to the use of commercial tobacco, not ceremonial or traditional use of tobacco by Indigenous peoples such as the Eastern Shoshone or Northern Arapaho. Smoking refers to the use of commercial cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco refers to commercial products such as chew, moist snuff, and snus. Legally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, also known as e-cigarettes or vaping devices) to be commercial tobacco products and subject to their regulation. Wyoming Statute (Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-301, 2013/2020) also includes ENDS in the legal definition of commercial tobacco products.

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, annually causing more than 480,000 deaths. In Wyoming, smoking leads to approximately 800 deaths from smoking-related illnesses each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014a). In 2019, commercial tobacco use costs in Wyoming totaled $1.5 billion (State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup [SEOW], 2024). In addition, scientists have known since the 1950s that smoking can cause lung cancer. The Surgeon General widely publicized this link between smoking and cancer in the landmark 1964 report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1964). Since then, further research has established that smoking cigarettes and breathing secondhand smoke causes multiple cancers and chronic diseases (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2010, 2014).

The Surgeon General declared vaping (the use of ENDS) an epidemic among youth and young adults in 2018 (USDHHS, 2018). Research indicates that vaping can lead to cigarette smoking (Berry et al., 2019; Hair et al., 2021). However, the CDC also states that vaping could be better than smoking for non-pregnant adult smokers if they completely switch from smoked commercial tobacco products to ENDS (CDC, 2024e). More research is needed to learn about the long-term effects of vaping and breathing secondhand aerosol exhaled by someone who is using ENDS.

Certain groups of people are more at risk of suffering the impacts of commercial tobacco use than others. Research has repeatedly shown that commercial tobacco companies have targeted promotional efforts toward specific neighborhoods, people with lower incomes, people of color, Indigenous people, people experiencing behavioral health conditions, and other communities (D’Silva et al., 2018; Farber & Folan, 2017; Lee et al., 2015; Prochaska et al., 2017). As a result, people in these groups are more likely to smoke. That puts these populations at a disproportionate risk of smoking-related disease and death.

JUUL’s rapid rise in the ENDS market has raised significant concerns about its targeted marketing towards youth and young adults. JUUL uses approaches similar to traditional cigarette advertising, such as lower prices, price discounts, and attractive advertising. The Federal Trade Commission reported that e-cigarette companies, including JUUL, spent over $859 million on advertising and promotions in 2021, focusing on price discounts, promotional allowances, and point-of-sale advertising—all strategies that appeal to youth by making e-cigarettes more accessible and affordable (Counter Tobacco, 2024). A large portion of JUUL’s Twitter (now X) followers were underage, indicating exposure of minors to age-restricted content (Kim et al., 2019). JUUL’s marketing attracted high school and college students (Willis & Mindicino, 2020). As a result, increased exposure to ENDS marketing is linked to high usage among youth, suggesting effective targeting of this demographic and contributing to youth experimentation, sustained use, and difficulties in quitting (Willett et al., 2019). A significant portion of JUUL’s 2018 profits came from underage users, highlighting the need for stricter regulations to prevent youth e-cigarette use (Kaplan et al., 2021).

The Wyoming Substance Use and Tobacco Prevention Program (SUTPP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) share four goals:

  • Preventing initiation of commercial tobacco use (CDC, 2014b)
  • Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke for people who do not smoke (CDC, 2017)
  • Promoting quitting among adults and young people (CDC, 2015)
  • Identifying and eliminating disparities related to commercial tobacco use (CDC, 2014b, 2015, 2017, 2021b)

The SUTPP uses various strategies to focus on reducing the impact of commercial tobacco and nicotine use in Wyoming by achieving these goals. The SUTPP monitors its progress on these goals by tracking the use and availability of commercial tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, ENDS, and other forms of commercial tobacco.

The achievement of commercial tobacco prevention outcomes is the collective result of the work of many organizations over time. The efforts of state government programs, including the SUTPP, multiple federal agencies, county prevention specialists, and other groups, have all played a part in Wyoming’s commercial tobacco prevention and control. Key federal agencies include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the CDC. Non-governmental groups include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Association. Changes also reflect the influences of the commercial tobacco and nicotine industry, such as changes in marketing practices or the release of new products such as ENDS.

The Wyoming Adult Tobacco Survey is administered by the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) at the University of Wyoming under contract to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), Public Health Division (PHD). Its purpose is to collect state- and county-level data about commercial tobacco and nicotine use, the aforementioned four specific goals, and the broader goal of reducing disease and death related to commercial tobacco and nicotine use. In addition to analyzing the 2023 data, WYSAC used data from previous survey versions to analyze trends.