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

ILLINOIS
Analysis and insight on tobacco and vapor
products in the Prairie State
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: ILLINOIS
Key Points:
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In 2023, 1.06 million Illinois adults (10.8 percent) were currently smoking. This is a 12.9 percent decrease from 2022 and represents 155,809 fewer adults smoking.
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Among all smoking adults in Illinois in 2023, 6 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 34.6 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 42.7 percent were 45 to 64 years old, and 16.6 percent were 65 years or older.
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Among all adults earning $25,000 or less in 2023, 19.1 percent were currently smoking compared to 6.9 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
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Among all smoking adults in Illinois in 2023, 65.8 percent were White, 15.6 percent were Black, 14.7 percent were Hispanic, 2.1 percent were Multiracial, and 1.8 percent were Asian.
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In 2023, 610,338 Illinois adults (6.2 percent) were currently using e-cigarettes. This is a 19.2 percent increase from 2022 and represents 99,153 additional adults vaping.
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Among all vaping adults in Illinois in 2023, 35.1 percent were 18 to 24 years old, 47.4 percent were 25 to 44 years old, 14.9 percent were 45 to 64 years old, and 2.6 percent were 65 years or older.
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In 2023, for every one Illinois high school student who was smoking, more 49 adults were currently using cigarettes.
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In 2023, for every one Illinois high school student who was vaping, more than six 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 Illinois adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased by 77 percent.
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E-cigarette use has remained stable among Illinois young adults. Between 2022 and 2023, e-cigarette use among 18- to 24-year-olds increased by 8.4 percent.
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Cigarette excise taxes in Illinois disproportionately impact low income and low education persons, while failing to significantly reduce smoking rates among that class.
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Among Illinois adults earning $25,000 or less, smoking rates decreased on average by 0.7 percent annually between 2003 and 2023, while rates among adults earning $50,000 or more decreased by 4.7 percent during the same period.
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In 2023, low-income adults were 2.8 times more likely to smoke than high income earners.
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In 2023, among Illinois adults who did not graduate high school, 16.8 percent were currently smoking, while only 3.9 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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Illinois 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 $0.01 on tobacco control efforts.