Tobacco NUMBRS

Any tobacco use

• Current Use: 20.5% of high school and 4.1% of middle school students reported having used a tobacco product in the past 30 days, a statistically significant decline from 26.4% (high school) and 5.2% (middle school) in 2017. An estimated 65,050 students in grades 6 through 12 used a tobacco product in the past 30 days, 12,740 fewer than in 2017.
• Ever Use: 37.9% of high school and 12.4% of middle school students reported having ever used a tobacco product, a statistically significant decline from 2017 (47.1% and 16.2%, respectively).

Flavored tobacco use

• Among students who currently use tobacco (past 30-day): 81.8% of students (84.4% of high school and 62.5% of middle school students) used a flavored tobacco product (menthol or other flavors) in the past 30 days. 
• Among students that currently smoke (past 30-day): 32.8% of high school and middle school students reported having smoked a menthol cigarette in the past 30 days. In 2018, 27.5% of adult smokers regularly smoked menthols. 
• Among students that currently use e-cigarettes (past 30-day): 87.1% of high school and middle school students reported having used a flavored (menthol or other flavored) e-cigarette in the past 30 days.
• Among students that currently use cigars (past 30-day): 26.1% of students (15.5% of high school and 42.9% of middle school students) reported having smoked a flavored (menthol or other flavored) cigar in the past 30 days.
• 78.4% of high school and middle school students reported that the first tobacco product they ever tried was flavored.

E-cigarette use

• Current Use: 19.3% of high school and 2.9% of middle school students reported having used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, not statistically different from the percentages in 2017 (19.2% and 3.1%, respectively).
• Ever Use: 35.4% of high school and 7.9% of middle school students reported ever using an e-cigarette, not statistically different from the percentages in 2017 (37.7% and 9.9%, respectively)

E-cigarette and recreational marijuana use

• 18.2% of high school students reported having ever vaped marijuana, a significant increase from 11.4% among high school students in 2017. 2.5% of middle school students reported having ever vaped marijuana, a marginally statistically significant increase from 2017 (1.5%).
• Among students currently using e-cigarettes (past 30-day), 65.1% of high school and 71.7% of middle school students had ever vaped marijuana, a statistically significantly increase from 2017 (33.4% and 15.5%, respectively).

Signs of dependence

• 70.4% of students who used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days reported signs of e-cigarette dependence (78.0% of middle school and 69.7% of high school current e-cigarette users).
• 42.8% of current tobacco users reported having had a strong craving or feeling like they really needed to use a tobacco product in the past 30 days. 
• 33.6% of current e-cigarette users are frequent users (used on 20+ days in past 30), a significant increase from 2017 (18.7%).

Cigarette use

• Current Use: 3.2% of high school students reported having smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days (current smoking), a steep decline from 9.6% in 2017; 2.0% of middle school students reported current smoking, not statistically different from 1.9% in 2017. 

Cigar and cigarillo use

• Current Use: 3.3% of high school students reported having smoked a cigar in the past 30 days (current use), a steep decline from 2017 (10.6%); 1.1% of middle school students reported current cigar use, not statistically different from the percentage in 2017 (1.4%).

Smokeless tobacco use

• Current Use: 1.3% of high school students reported having used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days, a steep decline from 6.0% in 2017. 0.9% of middle school students reported having used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days, statistically unchanged from 2017. 

Polytobacco use

• 5.4% of students reported having used more than one type of tobacco in the past 30 days, a dramatic decline from 2017 (13.5%). Nationally, this statistic dropped only one percentage point in the same time period from 9.2% to 8.2%. 
• The most prevalent combination of tobacco products used among students who used more than one product type was e-cigarettes and cigarettes (28.3%), followed by e-cigarettes and cigars (19.3%) and cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes (10.2%).

Youth access

• Students age 17 or younger who used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days (but could not legally buy tobacco products in any jurisdiction) most commonly reported they got the e-cigarettes they used from social sources: 49.2% reported “someone offered them to me,” 30.6% reported they “asked someone to give me some,” and 27.8% reported “I bought them from another person.” [This question changed from 2017 to 2020; difficult to trend]
• 8.0% of high school students under age 18 reported they bought e-cigarettes from a store (including online stores), which is a substantial decline from 30.5% in 2017.

Cessation

• 57.3% of students who currently use tobacco reported having intentions to quit within the next 30 days or later, while 42.7% did not. 
• 63.4% of students who were currently using tobacco reported having stopped using all tobacco for one day or longer in the past year because they were trying to quit for good. Only 36.6% of students who are current tobacco users reported not having tried to quit in the past year. 
• 52.4% of students who currently use tobacco were interested in receiving help to quit if offered at no cost.

Secondhand smoke

• 46.9% of middle and high school students reported they had been exposed to secondhand smoke during the past 7 days at one or more locations, a significant decrease from 2017 (52.2%).
• 32.1% of middle and high school students reported they had been exposed to secondhand smoke in an indoor or outdoor public place; 22.6% at work; 17.5% at school; 17.5% in a vehicle; and 16.1% at home. 

Secondhand aerosol

• 28.3% of middle and high school students reported they had been exposed to secondhand aerosol during the past 7 days at one or more location, a significant increase from 2017 (23.9%).
• 14.0% of middle and high school students reported they had been exposed to secondhand aerosol in an indoor public place, a statistically significant increase from 2017 (8.6%); 12.5% at home or in someone else’s home; and 16.1% in a vehicle. 

Any Tobacco Use

• 20.8% use some type of tobacco product.

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

Cigarette Use

• Smoking fell to 13.8% (approximately 574,000 adults), a significant decrease from 2018 (15.1%).

Among 18-24 year olds

• Smoking nearly dropped in half from 14.0% in 2018 to 7.8% in 2020.

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

E-cigarette Use

• Overall e-cigarette use (used at least once in the past 30 days) has not changed since 2018 (5.0% in 2018 compared to 4.9% in 2020).
• The percent of adult e-cigarette users of all ages who are also current smokers declined significantly, from 44.8% in 2018 to 31.8% in 2020.

Among 18-24 year olds

• E-cigarette use did not change from 2018 (18.1%) to 2020 (18.2%) among young adults
• E-cigarette use exceeds cigarette use for this age group by a wide margin (18.2% vs. 7.8%).

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

Menthol Tobacco Use

• 27.5% report menthol cigarettes as their usual product

Source: Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey, 2018

Quitting Tobacco

• • 50.5%, or 290,000 adult smokers, reported making a quit attempt in the past 12 months. This was a significant decrease from 54.9% in 2018.

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

Smokeless Tobacco Use

• • 3.7% of adults use smokeless tobacco compared to 4.1% in 2018—not a statistically significant change.

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey

The Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey (MYTS) has been conducted since 2000, by the Minnesota Department of Health to provide comprehensive, in depth information on the tobacco use of young people and to design and evaluate prevention efforts. The MYTS is a representative sample survey. The eight MYTS was conducted in 2020, and previous surveys took place in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

• Report: Teens and Tobacco in Minnesota: Highlights from the 2020 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey (PDF)
• Report: Teens and Tobacco in Minnesota: Highlights from the 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey (PDF)

Learn more about the Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey.

Minnesota Student Survey

The Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) is conducted every three years among populations of Minnesota public schools. The census-like survey asks questions about activities, experiences, and behaviors. Topics covered include: tobacco, alcohol and drug use, school climate, physical activity, violence and safety, health, connections with school and family, and other topics.

The survey is administered jointly by the Minnesota Departments of Education, Health, Human Services, and Public Safety. The Minnesota Student Survey collects data by 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades.

• Report: Tobacco Findings from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey (PDF)

Learn more about the Minnesota Student Survey.

Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey

The Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey (MATS) is a collaborative effort between ClearWay Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health. MATS is the most thorough source of information about tobacco behaviors, attitudes and beliefs in Minnesota and helps measure the progress of Minnesota’s comprehensive tobacco control program. Previous MATS surveys were conducted in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2014.

The 2014 MATS is a cross-sectional, random digit-dial telephone survey, conducted from February to July 2014 among adults aged 18 and older living in Minnesota. The sample of 9,304 responding adults consisted of 5,300 from a statewide landline sample and 4,004 from a cell phone sample.

Learn more about the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey.