Highlights from the Alaska Tobacco Facts, 2023 Update:

Alaska’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in the Alaska Department of Health has published its updated 2023 Alaska Tobacco Facts report. This report is an annual update of key trends about tobacco prevention and control from state data sources. It summarizes Alaska’s most current data on tobacco and nicotine use among adults, youth, and pregnant women. The results help raise awareness about the toll tobacco continues to take on the health and well-being of Alaskans.

Here are some key facts from the report:

Alaska Adult Tobacco Use

• Over half (52%) of Alaska adults who smoked in 2021 tried to quit. 9% of all Alaska adults who smoked in 2021 successfully quit for 3 or more months.
• In 2021, 6% of Alaska adults currently used smokeless tobacco, which is higher than the comparable U.S. national estimate (2%).
• In 2021, 17% (almost 1 in 5) of Alaska adults smoked cigarettes. The percentage of Alaska adults who smoked has declined significantly over the past two decades, from 27% (over 1 in 4) in 1997.
• In 2021, About 1 in 3 (34%) Alaska Native adults smoked cigarettes. The percentage of Alaska Native adults who smoked has decreased since 1996, but tobacco-related health inequities remain.
• Among women who recently delivered a child, smoking before pregnancy decreased significantly during the past 10 years, from 28% in 2012 to 17% in 2021.
• Smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy has decreased significantly during the past 10 years, from 13% in 2012 to 7% in 2021.

Alaska Youth Tobacco Use

Data in this report on Alaska youth tobacco use come from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which currently provides the most recent YRBS data available.

• Smoking among high school students has declined from 37% in 1995 to 8% in 2019.
• New to this year’s report: Among Alaska high school students, the percentage who reported ever trying smoking (even a puff) decreased from 72% of students in 1995 to 28% in 2019.
• In 2019, significantly more high school students were currently using e-cigarettes than smoking cigarettes. In Alaska, 26% (about 1 out of 4) of high school students said they currently used e-cigarettes.
• In 2019, 46% (about 1 in 2) of Alaska high school students reported having tried using an electronic vapor product at least once. This was a significant increase from 36% in 2015.
• New to this year’s report: Among Alaska high school students who were currently using electronic vapor products in 2019, more than 2 out of 3 usually got their electronic vapor products with help from social sources.

You can read the full report here.

  facts, statistics, tobacco, use