Category: Global Regulation

Starting tomorrow (June 5), Oregon is expanding what counts as a tobacco product under state law, KPTV reports. The change means oral nicotine pouches, nicotine gum, lozenges, and other nicotine products will be regulated the same way as cigarettes, vapes, and other tobacco products, including the state’s requirement that buyers be at least 21 years old.

Health officials say the update aims to reduce youth nicotine addiction as products such as nicotine pouches keep growing in popularity; the article notes pouches became the second most-used tobacco product among middle and high school students nationwide last year. The Oregon Health Authority says many of these products come in sweet or minty flavors that appeal to young people and hopes the law will limit access and keep children from becoming addicted.

New York State has formally introduced a generational nicotine ban that would make it illegal for any person born after December 31, 2007, to purchase nicotine products, including non-combustibles, in perpetuity. Assembly Bill 11509, introduced by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin of District 88 (representing parts of Westchester County), has been read on the Assembly floor and referred to the Committee on Health. Under the proposal, anyone currently younger than 21 would never legally be permitted to buy tobacco even after turning 21, while those currently of age would retain their right, meaning future generations would never gain it. The bill applies to any nicotine-delivery product, from vapes, chewing tobacco, and cigarettes to cigars, and even covers smoking paraphernalia and rolling papers.

The proposal is part of a growing trend around the world, as the bill’s justification section references generational bans in Brookline, Massachusetts, and the United Kingdom, the latter having become law the previous month.

The Premium Cigar Association criticized the measure as a “modern attempt at prohibition” that takes a one-size-fits-all approach and unfairly sweeps in premium cigars, and has launched a petition against the ban while meeting with the board of the New York Cigar Association to discuss next steps.

Nicotine pouches in New York will now be taxed like other tobacco products such as cigars, following Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of the state’s $268 billion budget into law on Thursday. The enacted budget brings alternative nicotine products under the state’s existing 75 percent wholesale tobacco tax. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the levy is expected to channel an additional $50 million in annual tobacco tax revenues into the Health Care Reform Act fund. The tax differs in structure from the one applied to cigarettes, which are taxed at $5.35 per pack in New York.

The change treats pouches such as Zyn and On! the same as conventional tobacco products despite their containing no tobacco leaf. State Budget Director Blake Washington has characterized nicotine pouches as a “public health concern,” describing cigarettes and pouches as “a distinction without a difference.” Tobacco control advocates have similarly argued that taxing all nicotine products broadly discourages addiction and protects youth, and Hochul has made youth nicotine access a prominent part of her public health agenda.

In response, PMI U.S., the American arm of Philip Morris International, issued an unattributed statement saying the company was disappointed not only by the 75 percent wholesale tax but by what it called the state’s disregard for a more fiscally responsible alternative that would have raised more revenue with fewer unintended consequences for small businesses. The statement argued the tax moves in the wrong direction on affordability and public health, contending it will raise costs and discourage adult smokers from switching to better alternatives, thereby keeping more people on cigarettes. It further warned that the tax would fuel illicit trade by shifting demand to unregulated markets lacking safeguards and age verification, which it said would undermine the governor’s stated goal of preventing youth access.

In an opinion piece, Dr. Tom Price — a physician, former member of Congress, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services who spoke at ATNF 2025 — argues that roughly 25 million American adults who still smoke have been left out of the public health conversation, even as Washington increasingly treats smoking as a solved problem. Writing from a clinical perspective and citing the loss of his father to smoking-related disease, Price frames continued smoking as one of the nation’s most persistent health challenges. His central reference point is “The Forgotten Smoker,” a new white paper from Philip Morris International U.S. that urges policymakers to confront stalled progress among those still at greatest risk.

Price builds his case on the principle that the greatest harm from tobacco comes from combustion, noting that the FDA itself recognizes a continuum of risk with cigarettes at the most dangerous end and smoke-free alternatives generally posing lower risk than continued smoking. He argues that for adults who do not quit nicotine entirely, moving away from cigarettes can be a meaningful health intervention, but that this message is not reaching the people who need it, in part because clinicians often feel unprepared to discuss it accurately.

To illustrate the communication gap, the article cites a PMI U.S.-commissioned survey of 1,565 U.S. healthcare practitioners, fielded by Povaddo, in which 47 percent mistakenly believed nicotine is a carcinogen and another 19 percent were unsure. The same survey found that 69 percent wanted the FDA to share clinical evidence on the harm-reduction role of smoke-free products, 68 percent wanted guidance on counseling patients, and 95 percent said they would share FDA-provided information with patients. The white paper research also found widespread public misperception, with 52 percent of Americans incorrectly believing nicotine causes cancer and 73 percent believing all tobacco and nicotine products are equally harmful.

Price’s recommended path is straightforward: the FDA should equip clinicians with plain-language guidance developed with input from practicing physicians, explaining what the agency has authorized and how to have evidence-based conversations with adult smokers. He urges the agency to state plainly that smoke, not nicotine, drives the greatest risk, to make authorization decisions understandable to non-experts, and to communicate directly with populations overrepresented among continuing smokers, including older Americans and veterans.