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:
- Increase funding for the state’s tobacco prevention and control program;
- Ensure smokefree workplaces and public places with no exemptions; and
- Achieve tax parity for all tobacco products.
SB 89 proposed taxing electronic cigarettes (currently not taxed), raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21, reducing youth penalties for possession of tobacco products, and protecting funding for the state program.
In the House, the bill was referred to the Labor & Commerce committee where it was heard and passed out of committee. After removing a referral to the House Finance committee, the bill went to the House Floor. An amendment was proposed to remove the tax in the bill and was accepted by the body. The amended bill passed on the House floor with 32 yeas and 8 nays. SB 89 returned to the Senate for concurrence and died when it wasn’t considered before legislative adjournment.
In 2025, the American Lung Association will continue to advocate to protect tobacco prevention and control program funding and work to maintain smokefree protections in all workplaces and public places.
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: | 8.40% |
| High School Tobacco Use Rate: | N/A |
| 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 data comes from CDCs 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. A current high school tobacco use rate and 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 towards effective Tobacco Control.