WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Choice Center has released its first Nicotine Pouch Accessibility Index, covering 50 states and the District of Columbia. It reveals that New York scored a B rating, but the proposed 75 percent excise tax on these products within the Governor’s Executive Budget threatens to lower the state’s current ranking.
Elizabeth Hayes, Head of External Affairs for the Consumer Choice Center, commented on the implications of the Index, saying,
“Much like vapes, nicotine pouches have been unfairly vilified. Studies show that, if smokers had the opportunity to switch to nicotine pouches back in 2000, there would be 700,000 fewer deaths from tobacco-related diseases by 2050. Unfortunately, policymakers in many states fail to recognize that pouches are a valid harm-reduction substitute for traditional combustible tobacco products, and New York could be trending in the wrong direction.”
Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed a 75 percent excise tax on nicotine pouches and a tax increase on vapor products, which for the 1.4 million smokers in the state, makes cutting cigarettes all the more unattractive. For New York’s budget office, a steep excise tax on smokeless products is low-hanging fruit for the state budget. Tax revenue has plunged 21 percent since 2021, when the state collected $1 billion in tobacco taxes. Today, that figure is closer to $793 million.
Hayes continued: “While a 75 percent excise tax on oral nicotine pouches may increase revenue in the short term, we believe that any boost in revenue will be undermined by consumers moving to purchase these products in the illicit market or out of state, or offset by the increase in government expenditures regarding smoking-related illnesses.”
A Background on Nicotine Findings Worldwide
One of the most extensive meta-reviews in existence (a study of studies which included no less than 62 other papers in its analysis) found that oral nicotine pouches contain substantially fewer harmful substances than any cigarette. Indeed, direct studies show that individuals absorb nicotine more slowly from pouches than cigarettes, to a similar extent as existing smokeless products, contradicting the narrative of a similar addictive profile. Far from encouraging teenagers to pick up smoking, former smokers, not teens, represent virtually all current nicotine pouch consumers in America. The UK Royal College of Physicians is so confident in the science behind these findings that it concluded that, “In the interests of public health — it is important to promote the use of e-cigarettes, NRT, and other non-tobacco nicotine productsas widely as possible as a substitute for smoking.” The UK has since endorsed pouches as a harm reduction tool.
“Rather than embracing policies that ignore the evidence and do not work, New York authorities should commit to studying and learning from the example of Sweden, the first country to become smoke-free in Europe thanks to the research-driven recognition of pouches as harm-reduction tools,” Hayes concluded.
*** The entire Index can be found HERE ***
