New York makes strides to reduce nicotine addiction

By Ann Morgan
Executive Director

The North Country Healthy Heart Network advocates for reducing nicotine addiction in the North Country region

It is an established fact: when the cost of a tobacco product goes up, consumption goes down—particularly among young people. And that is the likely outcome of the proposals by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the assembly and senate to tax nicotine pouches on par with other tobacco and nicotine products sold in New York. Clearly, our state leaders prioritize protecting communities like ours across the North Country, putting the health of our young people ahead of tobacco industry profits.

New York has made significant strides in reducing youth tobacco use. Statewide, high school e-cigarette use dropped from a peak of 28% in 2018 to 13% in 2024, a decline that translates to thousands fewer young people facing nicotine addiction. Consider what that kind of progress means for families right here in the North Country.

But the tobacco industry’s ability to attract and addict young people with ever new, inviting products like nicotine pouches puts those gains at risk. According to the New York Youth Tobacco Survey, nicotine pouch use among high schoolers doubled between 2022 and 2024. These products are discreet, flavored and aggressively marketed.

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in New York State and nationwide.

Here at the Heart Network, we work with health care providers throughout the region to improve patient access to smoking cessation resources and see firsthand that treating nicotine addiction is far harder—and far more costly—than preventing it. Research shows that just three to five minutes of brief counseling from a provider can double a patient’s chance of quitting, and long-term quit rates increase significantly when counseling is combined with medication. But the most effective intervention of all is making sure young people never start down the road to nicotine addiction and the many associated health risks.

Cheap nicotine pouches make this addictive tobacco product particularly enticing to young people, since they are not taxed on par with other tobacco products. Making them cost prohibitive for youth is a proven public health protection which has helped drive New York’s youth smoking down 91% since 2000. New York has taken action—refusing to stand by while the tobacco industry finds new ways to hook our kids and line their pockets.

Ann Morgan is the executive director of North Country Healthy Heart Network North Country Nicotine Consultants.