Alaska Highlights
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Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in Alaska. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by Alaska's elected officials:
- Tax e-cigarettes and achieve tax parity for all tobacco products;
- Protect funding for state's tobacco prevention and cessation programs; and
- Protect comprehensive clean indoor air laws.
Steven's bill, Senate Bill 24, proposes raising the legal sales age, reducing penalties for youth purchase, use and possession of tobacco products and taxing electronic devices at 25% of the retail sales price. This legislation was passed out of Senate Labor and Commerce and Senate Finance. SB 24 was voted on and passed on the Senate Floor with a 15-5 vote.
Representative Sara Hannan led efforts in supporting the House version by sponsoring House Bill 49. This legislation passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee with a 6-1 vote and was referred to House Finance. Both bills are now in House Finance, and will carry over to 2026.
In 2026, the American Lung Association will continue to support the two bills in House Finance and continue supporting efforts to reduce the impact of tobacco on Alaskans.
Alaska Facts |
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|---|---|
| Healthcare Costs Due to Smoking: | $438,143,263 |
| Adult Smoking Rate: | 15.30% |
| Adult Tobacco Use Rate: | 23.70% |
| High School Smoking Rate: | 6.50% |
| High School Tobacco Use Rate: | 19.70% |
| Middle School Smoking Rate: | N/A |
| Smoking Attributable Deaths per Year: | 610 |
Adult smoking and tobacco use data come from CDC's 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; adult tobacco use includes cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. High school smoking and tobacco use data comes from CDC's 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. A current middle school smoking rate is not available for this state.
Health impact information is taken from the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking-attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking-attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.
Health impact information is taken from the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking-attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking-attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.
Alaska Information
Learn more about your state specific legislation regarding efforts toward effective Tobacco Control.