Who Uses Smokeless Tobacco Products?
Americans spent $2.6 billion dollars on smokeless tobacco products in 2005, compared to $82 billion on cigarettes, and while cigarette sales have recently declined, smokeless tobacco sales continue to grow, tripling between 1986-2005.i,ii • 8.7 million Americans (3.5% of the population) aged 12 and older were current (past month) users of smokeless tobacco products in 2008, most commonly young adults ages 18 to 25. • Men are over 10 times more likely than women to report using smokeless tobacco in the past month: 6.8% of men aged 12 and older, compared to 0.4% of women.iii • While there have been declines in cigarette smoking among teens since the mid-1990s, the use of smokeless tobacco has been mostly unchanged for the past five years, with increases seen among 10th graders between 2008 and 2009. • 13.4% of high school boys (and 2.3% of girls) are current users of smokeless products; among high school seniors who ever used smokeless tobacco products, almost 75% began by the 9th grade.
