Individuals supervised by community correction programs have a high rate of tobacco use and high frequency of tobacco dependence. As compared with supervisees without tobacco dependence, probationers and parolees with tobacco dependence were more likely to abuse other substances and report poorer health. In this sample of 374 predominantly felon and repeat offenders, at high risk for recidivism, over 95% of subjects smoked or used other tobacco products, 87% were actively smoking at the time of interview, and 70% met criteria for lifetime tobacco dependence. Seventy‐four percent had DNA demethylation, defined as methylation less than 83%, at the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) residue interrogated by cg0557592 at the time of interview. Seventy‐eight percent exhibited four‐year recidivism. Demethylation was associated with four‐year recidivism in women, but not men. These findings suggest that methylation at cg05575921 serves as a semi‐quantitative measure of both recent use and lifetime burden, that community correction populations continue to smoke at high risk, that measurement of methylation may add to the identification of female offenders at risk for recidivism, and that treatments to assist in cessation efforts are desperately needed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.