- NY’s 75% tax ignores relative risk by making FDA-authorized, smoke-free nicotine pouches less affordable, weakening smokers’ financial incentive to switch away from cigarettes.
- Similar taxes in nearby states led to purchases surging across state lines, with no measurable improvement in public health.
ALBANY, NEW YORK — SEPT 2, 2026 — Yesterday, New York’s 75 percent wholesale excise tax on alternative nicotine products, such as pouches and vapes, went into effect. The tax proposal was inserted into NY’s state budget framework, and promoted as an answer to “public health concerns” around alternatives to smoking.
“New York can’t seem to make up its mind on whether the ultimate goal is to have New Yorkers quit smoking,” said Elizabeth Hayes of the Consumer Choice Center. “Lawmakers have effectively closed the price gap between retail nicotine pouches and a pack of combustible cigarettes, meaning consumers are less likely to choose the smokeless product since the economic upside has been diminished.”
NY labels any product containing nicotine as an “alternative nicotine product” if it has no tobacco and isn’t smokeable. Nicotine products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and approved to help consumers quit smoking (gum, lozenges, inhalers, and patches) are not included.
The evidence that nicotine pouches are less harmful to consumers’ health is overwhelming. The FDA authorized Zyn and On! PLUS for sale after rigorous review, pointing to smokers quitting and experiencing less risk of cancer. Smoke, not nicotine, is the driver behind deaths associated with smoking.
Read our guide to nicotine taxes in all 50-states
“This 75 percent tax will backfire. Just look at Rhode Island. After enacting an 80 percent tax on oral nicotine pouches in 2025, the state saw pouch sales fall by 23 percent while neighboring jurisdictions bordering the state experienced a 30 percent surge in sales,” added Hayes. “Consumers did not suddenly abandon nicotine; they simply buy it elsewhere. New York isn’t about to get healthier as a result of this tax, and that’s nothing to celebrate.”