Health officials measured progress in the campaign against tobacco by a single metric: fewer people smoking. By that metric, New Mexico is winning, as the percentage of adult cigarette smokers in the state has sharply declined from 15 percent in 2022 to 11.7 percent in 2024, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
The decline is one of the most promising public health trends in recent years. It reflects progress in anti-smoking campaigns, greater awareness of tobacco-related diseases, and broader access to cessation programs. But a more complicated reality lurks beneath that success.
Cigarette smoking is decreasing, but nicotine use is not disappearing. It is changing form, instead. State health officials say more New Mexicans are increasingly shifting to electronic cigarettes. The shift is reshaping the state’s tobacco control challenge. Adult e-cigarette use rose from 7.3 percent in 2022 to 8.2 percent in 2024, suggesting that many users may be replacing cigarettes with vaping devices instead of abandoning nicotine altogether.
The trend has prompted health officials to use this year’s World No Tobacco Day. They warned that a reduction in smoking does not necessarily mean a reduction in health risks. “New Mexicans have made progress quitting smoking, but it remains a significant public health problem,” said Anthony Garcia, director of the Department of Health’s Nicotine Use Prevention and Control Office. “More people are vaping, especially youth, because it’s sold as a safer choice to cigarettes, but e-cigarettes contain toxic chemicals linked to cancer along with brain, cardiovascular, and respiratory harm.”
The shift mirrors a wider national pattern in which vaping products are gaining popularity. E-cigarettes have attracted smokers seeking to quit smoking cigarettes, as well as younger users who prefer vapes over traditional cigarettes.
Health experts, however, warn that “safer” does not mean safe. Vaping generally exposes users to fewer toxic substances than smoking cigarettes; e-cigarettes still deliver nicotine, a highly habit-forming drug that can affect brain development in adolescents and cause harm to the heart and lungs. Researchers said the long-term health consequences of prolonged e-cigarette use remain under study, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The stakes are still high in New Mexico. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, tobacco use kills approximately 2,600 New Mexicans each year. It is responsible for nearly one-fourth of all cancer deaths statewide.
At the same time, recent data reveal that prevention initiatives among young people may be producing results. High school cigarette smoking declined from 8.3 percent in 2019 to 3.3 percent in 2023. During the same period, high school e-cigarette use fell from 33.4 percent to 18.8 percent. Among middle school students, vaping fell from 15.1 percent to a record low of 10.4 percent.
The declines suggest that vigorous public health messaging, school-based prevention initiatives, and increasing awareness of vaping risks may have helped curb nicotine use among younger users. Still, officials caution that the battle is far from over.
The core challenge facing public health agencies today is not convincing people to stop smoking. But it is helping them stop nicotine addiction in all its forms. To that end, the NMDOH is urging residents who use cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or other nicotine products to seek free services through state-supported cessation programs. Resources are also available at QuitNowNM.org or DejeloYaNM.org for people struggling with vaping addiction.
The declining numbers tell a story of progress—but also of adaptation. Nicotine is finding new ways to stay as cigarettes lose ground. Public health officials are confronting a question that goes beyond smoking itself: how to end addiction when the product keeps changing form.