State-Specific Maps and Stats on Tobacco and E-Cigarette Use Among American Adults

These maps reveal how some states fare in their respective campaigns against cigarette smoking and in controlling the sale of personal vaporizers and public consumption of e-liquids. These maps are color-coded visual representations of the available statistics on tobacco use in the United States. For instance, one of the maps shows which states have more people dying from related cancers, more stores selling cigarettes to minors, and more people chewing tobacco.

No Statewide Smoking Restrictions in Bars, Restaurants and Workplaces in Five States

As of the first quarter of 2015, only five states - namely Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming - have non-existent statewide laws that may restrict the general sale and use of tobacco products in private-sector worksites, restaurants and bars. This means that every city or county in these areas will have to impose their own ordinances or policies on smoking cigars or cigarettes and using personal vaporizers within their respective localities.



Image provided by author.

Some states don't have specific laws that would stop people from using an electronic cigarette, but this doesn't mean that vapers are welcome to chase their clouds everywhere. Many proprietors of restaurants, bars and gambling facilities in these states put up "No Vaping" and "No Smoking" signs in front. But, quite a few of these business owners are vapers or smokers themselves, and they discreetly allow their customers to bring their e-cigarettes inside these establishments.

High Smoking Rates, Lung Cancer Cases, Tobacco Chewers, and Underage Smokers

The real estate blog, Estately, created the following map as a visual aide for those who are purchasing a home or moving into a rental property in another state. Buyers are now aware that living in Arkansas means they're likely going to encounter groups of people who have very strong prejudices or biases against some marginalized sectors of society, such as non-Caucasian individuals or women and young girls living in poverty.



See what each state has more of per capita. Map created by Estately.

The map tells us that KENTUCKY has the most number of smokers, which is supported by data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for January-December 2013.

In addition, an online statistics portal mentioned that "some 214.3 million pounds of tobacco were produced in 2014" by the state. The National Agricultural Statistics Service also reported that farmers in the region produced nearly 184 million pounds of tobacco in 2012 - the greatest amount harvested that year in the country.

So, it's not surprising at all that Kentucky also has the highest incidence of lung and bronchial cancers from 2008 to 2012 for all genders. And, more than seventy percent of those diagnosed with advanced lung cancer died within that five-year period. Visit the link to see additional statistical information on age-adjusted cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States categorized by state, gender and type of cancer.

More people in WYOMING and WEST VIRGINIA have been chewing tobacco than in other states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the following state-specific statistics on the prevalence of cigarette and smokeless tobacco use among American adults through its weekly morbidity report:

Smokeless tobacco use has risen to 9.8% in Wyoming) in 2011 and up to 9.4% in West Virginia in 2013. Prevalence of smokeless tobacco use increased in four states: Louisiana (26.7%), Montana (12.7%), South Carolina (22.2%), and West Virginia (25.3%), while numbers declined in two states: Ohio (-16.0%) and Tennessee (-25.0%).

BRIGHT SHADES OF RED: Wyoming and West Virginia have the highest number of smokeless tobaco users. This map was produced by Vocativ.

Wyoming has the greatest percentage of smokeless tobacco users because of the state's great rodeo tradition. Young women in short skirts were often seen selling those tobacco chews to men and women in the audience. After the crackdown by anti-tobacco groups, it's estimated that only about 14 percent of men in the state still use smokeless tobacco. It's also estimated that one in five high school boys are chewing tobacco.

FDA Issued Nearly 10,000 Warnings and Fines to Major Retailers in Three States

LOOK: Retail stores in Missouri, Connecticut and South Carolina were penalized the most for selling or supplying tobacco to minors. Map created by Vocativ.

By the end of 2014, the FDA has issued the highest number of warning letters and fines to pharmacies, convenience stores, and specialty shops in MISSOURI, CONNECTICUT, and SOUTH CAROLINA after state investigators discovered they've been unscrupulously selling cigarettes to kids.

Although the total number of underage smokers each year has been declining since the mid-nineties, more than 15 percent of high school students in the United States still use cigarettes and other tobacco products. Suddenly, mooching a stick or two from an older friend wasn't enough. Buying a pack of smokes without being carded became the norm for these kids.

E-cigarettes Now Sold as Age-Restricted Products in 46 States

As of June 2015: Several tobacco laws that prohibit the sale or supply of tobacco to minors by businesses and individuals have already been implemented in 46 States. This map was created by Transform Tobacco.

E-cigarette use among middle-school and high school kids has tripled in the past year. In response, 46 states have implemented age-restriction laws that prohibit underage smoking, tobacco possession of minors, and the sale or supply of tobacco products to kids. These states consider e-cigarettes as age-restricted products.

Transform Tobacco further said in the report that "FDA inspections of retail establishments have shown a 95% retailer compliance rate when it comes to checking identification prior to sale, leaving kids to gain access to tobacco products through other channels - complicit adults, and adults involved in illicit trade of cigarettes, are the major source of this access."

Are We Buying Fewer Cigarettes and Smoking Less These Days Compared to Those Living It Up in the '70s and '80s?

WATCH THIS: Look at the ever-changing prevalence of cigarette use among American adults shakily change from dark red to bright yellow to intense green as the numbers continue to shift downwards annually from 1970 to 2012 in every state. Map created by Metric Maps.

You may have noticed a sudden spate of decreases in cigarette smoking happening in the early 1990s, and continuing to gather momentum throughout the first and second decades of the second millenium. That likely happened after a heavy tax burden was placed on the shoulders of retailers, and it jacked up the retail prices of the cigarettes. As a result, people had to change their smoking behavior and consume fewer cigarettes in a day.

As the map's ticker goes from 2004 to 2012, you'll see the whole eastern portion of the United States slowly being covered with bright yellow and green spots. This can only mean one thing: whatever smoking cessation methods are being used in combined treatments these days seem to be working.

And so, each smoker now annually consumes fewer than 60 packs of cigarettes per capita of each state. It's also possible that they've already shifted to vaping, which is probably why they're not hooked on tobacco anymore.

By the end of 2012, only Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Hampshire remain in the red, which means that every tobacco user from these areas still chain smokes around 90 to 120 packs of cigarettes sold per capita of their respective states in a year.