While cigarette smoking has dropped among young people, vaping has increased.

The good news is that traditional tobacco smoking rates in Chautauqua County are declining. The bad news is that vaping appears to be taking its place.

Members of the county Health Department recently gave a presentation at a legislature committee meeting regarding smoking and vaping.

Health Department member Steve Kilburn said while smoking rates have fallen in the last few years in Chautauqua County, it’s still higher than the state or even national average. “There really aren’t many states in the Union that have higher smoking rates than we do,” he said.

Kilburn also said caring for smokers is quite costly. “There have been studies done that have estimated that maybe 15-20% of Medicaid expenditures are related to healthcare issues from smoking,” he said.

Breaking that down further, Kilburn said on average a smoker in New York state will likely spend more than $300,000 in their lifetime on healthcare.

VAPING

In recent years, vaping has become more popular.

Kilburn said the latest data of vaping in the county is about five years old, but said that it appears while cigarette use has gone down, vaping has gone up dramatically. “In 2021, our county had the highest rate of vaping in the state,” he said.

County Public Health Director Lacey Wilson noted that when vaping first came on the scene, it was marketed as a “healthy alternative” to traditional smoking, but vaping has its own issues. “What we are finding in science is that, interestingly and ironically, it’s causing different types of lung issues because it is oil droplets,” she said.

Jessica Wuerstle with the county Health Department noted that a flavored nicotine vape has much more nicotine in it than a traditional cigarette.

Kilburn said prevention is key during an individual’s formative years. “Ninety percent – maybe more – of adults who smoke every day began before they were 18. It’s very rare that someone becomes a smoker later in life,” he said.

Young people today have a much smaller percentage rate of smoking traditional cigarettes than in the past.

Kilburn said in the 1990s, about 30% of teenagers self-identified as smokers. Today only about 3% of teenagers do.

But the downside is that many teenagers have turned to vaping. One survey shared during the presentation shows that among teenagers around 10% self report using vapes.

ENFORCEMENT

Health officials reported there’s around 100 licensed tobacco/e-cigarettes in the county. “There’s no shortage of tobacco and vaping retail outlets,” Kilburn said.

To purchase e-cigarettes or tobacco, an individual must be 21 years of age. The county Health Department, as required by the state, regularly visits tobacco/vape shops to see if they’re complying with state laws, including advertising restrictions and making sure they don’t sell product to underage individuals.

Wuerstle said in 2024, there were 10 licensed retailers who sold tobacco products to a minor who was sent in by the county Health Department.

In 2025, there were two licensed retailers who sold tobacco products to a minor, however there were also three businesses that had their licenses suspended, and two that had their licenses permanently revoked.

Wilson said there are a small number of businesses that continue to be a problem, calling them “predatory” and “repeat offenders.”

She said if the county chose to do so, there are local laws that could be enacted that could address things like enforcement and zoning regulations. “We don’t have to limit the number of retailers that we have, but perhaps we do want to enact something that is much more about where these retailers can be,” Wilson said.