Staff Reports
Alaska’s Legislature just passed a surprise attack on quitting. The body approved SB 24 with a late amendment that slaps a 75%‑of‑wholesale excise tax on “tobacco products, synthetic nicotine products, and nicotine substitutes.” In plain English: nicotine pouches and other non‑tobacco nicotine items that many adults use to stop smoking would be taxed as if they were cigarettes. The bill has cleared the Legislature and is now headed to Governor Mike Dunleavy.
What SB 24 actually changes
SB 24 started as a tobacco and vaping bill, but a floor amendment rewrote the tax piece. The final language moves nicotine pouches and similar products into the state excise tax base at a very high rate. The bill also raises the legal purchase age to 21 and tightens licensing and online‑sale rules for nicotine products. Sponsors include Senator Gary Stevens and others, and with both chambers having passed it the measure is ready for the governor’s decision.
Why this matters for quitting and harm reduction
Here’s the mismatch: federal regulators have authorized specific nicotine pouch products after review, and recent studies show many adults who use pouches are current or former smokers who switched from cigarettes. Nicotine pouches are not risk‑free, but they carry far fewer of the harmful chemicals found in combusted tobacco. What the Legislature just did was raise the price of a product some public‑health researchers see as a lower‑risk alternative for adults trying to quit smoking.
Lawmakers got the incentive wrong
Economists love to remind us: tax what you dislike, and you get less of it. If the goal is fewer smokers, why tax a quitting tool like it’s a pack of Marlboros? A 75% wholesale tax will push retail prices up sharply, and that price shock will hit people trying to stop smoking — while municipalities that already tax tobacco can layer on even more. Supporters will say this prevents youth use and funds prevention. Fine. But crushing the market for adult harm‑reduction products is a blunt instrument that may do more harm than good.
What should happen next
Governor Mike Dunleavy should think twice before signing this into law. If the state wants to protect kids, craft rules targeted at youth access and marketing. If the state wants to reduce smoking deaths, don’t punish adults for choosing a lower‑risk path away from cigarettes. A smarter approach is clearer definitions, measured taxes tied to public‑health goals, and actual funding for cessation programs — not a one‑size‑fits‑all tax that makes quitting harder. Alaska’s lawmakers can do better than this; let’s hope the governor sends SB 24 back for a fix.
