New Jersey Considers Broad Expansion of Flavored Tobacco Restrictions

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Key Points:

• Legislative Overview: New Jersey lawmakers are considering legislation to significantly expand the state’s existing flavored tobacco ban to additional nicotine and tobacco product categories.

• Product Expansion: The proposal would extend the flavored tobacco prohibition beyond e-cigarettes to include combustible cigarettes, non-premium cigars, and oral nicotine pouches.

• Flavor Definition: Retailers would be prohibited from selling products containing a “characterizing flavor other than tobacco.”

• Explicitly Banned Flavors: Menthol, mint, wintergreen, clove, fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy or dessert flavors, alcoholic beverage flavors, and herbs or spices.

• Retail Prohibitions: Retailers would be barred from selling, distributing, offering for sale, or giving away newly prohibited flavored tobacco products.

• Penalties for Violations:

  • First violation: $250 fine

  • Second violation: $500 fine

  • Third and subsequent violations: $1,000 fine

  • Repeated violations could lead to suspension or revocation of tobacco retail licenses.

• Policy Objectives: The legislation seeks to eliminate the menthol exemption remaining from New Jersey’s 2008 flavored cigarette ban and address concerns about youth appeal of flavored products.

• Youth Smoking Trends: According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, only 2.8 percent of New Jersey high school students smoked cigarettes in 2023, one of the lowest levels ever recorded.

• Long-Term Youth Decline: Between 2001 and 2023, youth cigarette use declined by 90.5 percent, from 29.4 percent to 2.8 percent.

• Young Adult Smoking: In 2024, only 3.9 percent of New Jersey adults aged 18–24 were current smokers, the lowest level recorded.

• Adult Smoking and Vaping Trends: Between 2016 and 2024, adult smoking declined 38.6 percent, while vaping increased 67.6 percent.

• Behavioral Shift: Compared to 2016, 324,965 fewer adults were smoking while 206,919 more adults were vaping in 2024.

• Retail Compliance Data: In 2024, the FDA conducted 7,154 retailer inspections in New Jersey, identifying 1,690 violations (23.6 percent failure rate).

• Violation Breakdown:

  • Cigars: 63 percent of violations

  • Cigarettes: 24.8 percent of violations

  • Oral nicotine products: <1 percent of violations

• Nicotine Pouch Market Growth: U.S. nicotine pouch sales increased from 126 million units in 2019 to 808 million units in 2022, with an additional 183.7 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.

• FDA Authorization: In January 2025, the FDA authorized 20 nicotine pouch products through the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process.

• Youth Nicotine Pouch Use: According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 1.8 percent of middle and high school students reported past-month pouch use.

• State Tobacco Spending: In 2024, New Jersey collected $792.8 million in tobacco tax revenue but allocated only $9 million (1.1 percent) to tobacco control programs.

• Funding Gap: For every $1 collected in tobacco taxes, New Jersey spent roughly $0.01 on cessation, education, and prevention programs.

• Bottom Line: While intended to reduce youth tobacco use, the legislation would expand flavor prohibitions across multiple product categories despite historically low youth smoking rates and growing use of reduced-risk alternatives among adults. The policy may also restrict harm reduction options while the state allocates only a small fraction of tobacco tax revenue toward cessation and prevention programs.

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Legislation in the Garden State would significantly expand the already existing prohibition on flavored tobacco products. While touted as a measure to protect youth and close perceived loopholes, the proposal ignores real-world evidence showing dramatic reductions in youth tobacco use, historically low adult smoking rates, and the growing market for flavored products. Rather than expanding the prohibition of flavors to additional tobacco and nicotine products, policymakers should revisit the existing ban on flavored e-cigarettes and more effectively utilize existing tobacco tax revenues for tobacco control programs, including cessation, education, and prevention.

Companion legislation in both the New Jersey Assembly and Senate would expand the state’s current flavored tobacco restrictions to include additional products such as combustible cigarettes, non-premium cigars, and oral nicotine pouches. Retailers would be prohibited from selling products that contain flavor additives creating a “characterizing flavor other than tobacco.” Explicitly banned flavors include menthol, mint, wintergreen, clove, fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy or dessert flavors, alcoholic beverage flavors, and herbs or spices.

Retailers would be prohibited from selling, offering for sale, distributing, or giving away the newly included flavored tobacco products. Those found in violation would face escalating civil penalties, with a minimum fine of $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second violation, and $1,000 for third and subsequent violations. After repeated violations, the New Jersey Division of Taxation may suspend or revoke a retailer’s tobacco license.

The legislation attempts to address two primary policy objectives. When New Jersey enacted its flavored cigarette ban in 2008, menthol and clove cigarettes were exempted. In 2009, the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act banned clove-flavored cigarettes nationwide but retained the exemption for menthol cigarettes. Under Senate Bill 2979 and Assembly Bill 3703, the ban would now be extended to menthol products. Lawmakers also contend that flavored products increase youth appeal and that prohibiting flavors across product categories would reduce youth use.

While addressing youth and adult tobacco use is a laudable public health goal, blanket prohibitions ignore the fact that youth tobacco use is already at historic lows while adult smoking rates have steadily declined – particularly following the introduction of tobacco harm reduction products in the U.S. marketplace.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in 2023 only 2.8 percent of New Jersey high school students reported currently smoking combustible cigarettes, defined as use on at least one day in the previous 30 days. This represents one of the lowest rates ever recorded. Between 2001 and 2023, youth smoking in the Garden State declined by 90.5 percent – from nearly one-third of high school students (29.4 percent) reporting cigarette use in 2001 to fewer than one in twenty (2.8 percent) in 2023.

Even more striking, smoking among young adults aged 18 to 24 has nearly disappeared. According to the CDC’s 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, only 3.9 percent of New Jersey young adults were current smokers – the lowest level recorded and a 43.4 percent decrease from 2023.

The introduction of e-cigarettes to the Garden State coincided with steep declines in combustible cigarette use. In 2016, approximately 14 percent of New Jersey adults were smoking while 3.7 percent reported vaping. Between 2016 and 2024, adult smoking declined by 38.6 percent while vaping increased by 67.6 percent. In practical terms, there were an additional 206,919 adults vaping in 2024 compared to 2016, while there were 324,965 fewer adults smoking cigarettes.

The legislation would also unfairly punish responsible tobacco retailers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration routinely conducts tobacco retailer compliance inspections using underage decoys attempting to purchase tobacco products. In 2024, the FDA conducted 7,154 inspections of New Jersey retailers, resulting in 1,690 violations – a 23.6 percent failure rate. Of these violations, 1,065 were for the sale of cigars (63 percent), 419 were for cigarette sales (24.8 percent), and only 16 violations – or less than 1 percent – were related to oral nicotine products. Rather than imposing a blanket prohibition, policymakers should focus on targeted enforcement strategies to reduce violations involving specific products.

The legislation also unnecessarily targets tobacco harm reduction products such as nicotine pouches. These products have been recognized by federal regulators as appropriate for the protection of public health and are not widely used by youth.

Between August 2019 and March 2022, sales of nicotine pouches increased from 126 million to 808 million units. The CDC Foundation reports an additional 183.7 percent increase between September 2022 and September 2024 – the largest increase yet recorded.

In January 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing orders for twenty nicotine pouch products, available in multiple flavors, marking the first time the agency authorized this product category through the premarket tobacco product application process. The FDA has also launched a pilot program designed to accelerate the review of additional nicotine pouch applications, with newly authorized products expected to reach retail markets by the end of the year. Even tobacco manufacturers have reported declining cigarette sales alongside growing demand for oral nicotine products, reflecting a major shift in consumer behavior.

Despite these increases in sales, youth use of nicotine pouches remains low. According to the CDC’s 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 1.8 percent of middle and high school students reported past-month use, including 2.4 percent of high school students and 1 percent of middle school students. Recently released 2025 survey results similarly show limited youth use, with only 2.2 percent of high school students and 1.6 percent of middle school students reporting past-month use.

It is also concerning that New Jersey policymakers are considering further restrictions on tobacco and nicotine products while allocating only a small fraction of existing tobacco tax revenues toward tobacco control efforts. In 2024, New Jersey collected an estimated $792.8 million in tobacco tax revenue yet allocated only $9 million toward tobacco control programs – just 1.1 percent of total tobacco tax revenue. For every $1 the Garden State collected in tobacco taxes, it spent approximately one cent on programs designed to help adults quit smoking and prevent youth use.

While reducing youth tobacco use is an important public health objective, expanding flavor prohibitions to additional tobacco and nicotine products ignores the significant progress already made in reducing smoking and youth tobacco use. Evidence suggests that harm reduction products are helping many adults move away from combustible cigarettes, while youth use of both cigarettes and alternative nicotine products remains historically low. Rather than expanding prohibitions that may unintentionally drive consumers toward illicit markets, New Jersey policymakers should prioritize evidence-based tobacco control strategies and ensure that existing tobacco tax revenues are more effectively invested in cessation, education, and prevention programs.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.