
IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings

FLORIDA
Analysis and insight on tobacco and vapor
products in the Sunshine State
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: FLORIDA
Key Points:
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In 2023, 1.9 million Florida adults (10.5 percent) were currently smoking. This is a 7.1 percent decrease from 2022 and represents 108,999 fewer adults smoking.
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Among all smoking adults in Florida in 2023, 7.9 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 35.1 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 37.7 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 19.4 percent were 65 years or older.
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Among all smoking adults in Florida in 2023, 63.4 percent were White, 23.5 percent were Hispanic, 7.1 percent were Black, 3.4 percent were Multiracial, 1.2 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native, 1.1 percent were Asian, and 0.3 percent were adults identifying as “Other.”
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In 2023, 1.4 million Florida adults (7.6 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This is a 24.6 percent increase from 2022 and represents 293,335 additional adults vaping.
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Among all vaping adults in Florida in 2023, 29 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 47 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 19 percent were 45 to 64 years old and 5 percent were 65 years or older.
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In 2023, for every one Florida high school student who was smoking, more than 39 adults were currently using cigarettes.
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In 2023, for every one Florida high school student who was vaping, more than four adults were currently using e-cigarettes.
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The introduction of e-cigarettes has not led to increases in cigarette smoking, but rather, correlates with significant declines in smoking rates among young adults.
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Between 2007 and 2023, smoking rates among Florida adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 63.3 percent.
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Cigarette excise taxes in Florida disproportionately impact lower-income and lower-educated persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
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Among Florida adults earning $25,000 or less, smoking decreased on average by 3.6 percent annually between 2003 and 2023, while rates among adults earning $50,000 or more decreased by 4.5 percent during the same period.
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In 2023, low-income adults were 2.1 times more likely to smoke than high income earners.
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In 2023, among Florida adults who did not graduate high school, 18.4 percent were currently smoking, while only 4.3 percent of college graduates were smoking.
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In 2023, adults lacking a high school diploma were 4.3 times more likely to smoke than college graduates.
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Florida woefully underfunds programs to prevent youth use of tobacco and/or vapor products and help adults quit smoking, while simultaneously receiving millions of dollars from the pockets of the adults who smoke. In 2023, for every $1 the state received in tobacco monies, it spent only $0.06 on tobacco control efforts.