VAPES and POUCHES IN NEW YORK STATE ARE CHEAP, KIDS LIKE ME ARE PAYING THE REAL PRICE
It is too easy for children to become addicted to nicotine in New York.
As a high school student, I’m surrounded by vaping and nicotine pouch use. Students vape between classes and after tests. Classmates use flavored pouches, or “lip pillows,” in class every day. Even though you must be 21 to legally purchase tobacco, sleek, candy-flavored e-cigarettes and pouches have flooded school bathrooms, backpacks and classrooms. These addictive products, which are blatantly and incessantly marketed to children, are easy for students to obtain because they are cheap. Some pouch products cost as little as $5 per pack.
These low prices are fueling a crisis of youth nicotine use in New York that far exceeds national averages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1.6 million, or 6% of students, used e-cigarettes nationwide – including 400,000 middle schoolers – in 2024. In New York, more than 13.1% of high school students use e-cigarettes in 2024, and nicotine pouch use has doubled in only two years. JUUL and Geek Bar are popular among young people, and almost 90% of kids who vape use flavored products. Vaping is associated with an increased risk of combustible cigarette use and can prime the brain for addiction to other drugs.
As part of a school research project, I visited over 140 tobacco retailers on Long Island and New York City. The average cost of a JUUL was barely $30.00 per 4 pack. Nicotine pouches, like ZYN – available in mint and citrus flavors – averaged $8.54 for 15 pouches, and their use has doubled among young people in recent years. The proposal allocates $50 million from the new tax for New York’s tobacco control and prevention program with any additional revenue going to the General fund. This is not only good fiscal policy; it’s a proven public health strategy to decrease teen vaping rates, which were as high as 27% only eight years ago.
Kids are especially impacted by price increases. Decades of research show teens are less likely to start using tobacco and more likely to quit when costs go up. Tax increases are part of the reason teen smoking rates have decreased 90% in New York State over the past two decades – falling from 27.1% in 2000 to 2.4% in 2024, saving countless lives and billions of dollars in long-term health costs. Additional savings would be generated under the current proposal as more kids are deterred from using these addictive products.
Several of my fellow students have already graduated from vaping to smoking to edible marijuana gummies to help alleviate the stress of Advanced Placement classes, SATs and other school pressures. When nicotine products are more expensive, fewer teens start using them, more quit, and we all save the cost of paying for the tobacco-related illness of another generation.
As a high school student, I’m doing all I can to discourage my peers from using tobacco products, but that’s not enough. We need our legislature to protect us from Big Tobacco by passing these tax increases. The price of inaction is too high and young people like me are paying the cost.
Governor Hochul’s proposal to increase taxes on these other tobacco products is a pragmatic strategy deeply aligned with New York’s long-time emphasis on child health. The budget request acknowledges that tobacco policies must adapt to the rapidly evolving market. By increasing taxes on newer nicotine products, this measure is a chance to prioritize children’s health over industry profit. The Legislature should seize that chance.
Sohan Shah is a high school student in Syosset and a national ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
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