New Jersey’s S.4820 Is Major Setback for Harm Reduction

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Key Points:

• Punitive Tax Proposal: New Jersey lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 4820, which would raise excise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products and extend taxation to oral nicotine pouches. The bill boosts the wholesale tax on most tobacco products from 30 percent to 50 percent, doubles the moist snuff tax, and imposes a retroactive floor tax on existing inventory.

• Targeting Low-Risk Products: S.4820 would newly classify oral nicotine pouches as “tobacco products,” subjecting them to the same high wholesale tax. This move contradicts established science showing that pouches are substantially less harmful than combustible cigarettes and could deter adult smokers from switching to safer alternatives.

• Youth Use Minimal: Federal data show youth pouch use is extremely low – just 2.4 percent of high schoolers and 1 percent of middle schoolers in 2024. Meanwhile, New Jersey’s own surveys show youth smoking down 78 percent since 2013 and youth vaping down more than one-third from 2019–2023. There is no evidence of a youth pouch problem.

• Retailers Performing Well: Between January 2024 and October 2025, the FDA conducted 12,983 compliance inspections in New Jersey. Only 2.1 percent of violations involved nicotine pouches, while 61.4 percent involved cigars, proving that youth access to oral nicotine products is rare and enforcement is effective.

• Science of Harm Reduction: Decades of research confirm that combustion – not nicotine – causes nearly all tobacco-related disease.

  • A 2011 review found snus to be 99 percent less hazardous than smoking

  • A 2009 analysis of 89 studies found “very little evidence” that smokeless tobacco increases cancer risk.

  • Sweden’s experience with snus shows some of the lowest smoking and lung cancer rates in the world.

• FDA Recognition: In January 2025, the FDA authorized 20 nicotine pouch products, citing their lower toxicant exposure and public health potential. A new fast-track review process was launched in September to accelerate approval of additional low-risk products.

• Fiscal Reality: New Jersey collected $724.8 million in tobacco-related revenue in 2023 – including $456.1 million from cigarette taxes – but spent only $7.1 million (less than 1 percent) on cessation and prevention. Over 20 years, the state took in $19.4 billion from tobacco yet invested just $140.7 million in public health programs.

• Policy Consequences: Raising taxes on low-risk products like nicotine pouches will protect the cigarette market, discourage quitting, and undermine harm reduction progress. The proposal ignores declining youth use, misdirects resources, and punishes adults choosing safer options.

• Policy Recommendation: New Jersey lawmakers should invest in cessation and education rather than taxing harm-reduction products. Policies should reflect the continuum of risk, supporting adults who switch to smoke-free alternatives instead of reinforcing outdated prohibitionist models.

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Legislation has been introduced in the Garden State that would significantly increase New Jersey’s excise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products, while newly extending these taxes to oral nicotine pouches.

Senate Bill 4820 raises the wholesale tax on all tobacco products – other than cigarettes, moist snuff, and liquid nicotine – from 30 percent to 50 percent of the wholesale price, and doubles the moist snuff tax from $0.75 to $1.50 per ounce. The bill also amends state law to explicitly classify oral nicotine pouches as “tobacco products,” subjecting them to the 50 percent wholesale tax. Additionally, S 4820 imposes a floor tax, requiring retailers and distributors to immediately pay the difference between the current tax rates and the new, higher rates on all inventory held when the law takes effect.

Policymakers should avoid imposing punitive taxes on tobacco harm reduction products such as oral nicotine pouches. These products are substantially less harmful than combustible cigarettes – and even than traditional smokeless tobacco. Overly aggressive taxation risks deterring adult smokers from switching and undermines public understanding of the well-established continuum of risk across nicotine products.

As sales of oral nicotine products have increased nationwide, states have introduced various proposals to regulate or tax them. S 4820’s sponsor has a long track record of supporting higher tobacco taxes and restrictive nicotine policies, including the 2012 cigarette tax increase and the 2020 statewide flavored e-cigarette ban. Yet these measures were unnecessary given the long-term declines in youth smoking and vaping across New Jersey and the United States. Reactionary taxation of oral nicotine products also ignores federal data showing that youth use of these products remains extremely low.

According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 2.4 percent of high schoolers and 1 percent of middle schoolers currently use nicotine pouches – far too small a population to justify steep tax hikes on products that primarily benefit adults seeking safer alternatives. New Jersey’s own 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey confirms major declines in tobacco use: only 2.8 percent of high school students were currently smoking in 2023, down from 12.9 percent in 2013. E-cigarette use has fallen as well; ever-use declined 31.3 percent from 2019 to 2023, and current use fell 34.1 percent. Unfortunately, the state does not collect youth data specific to smokeless tobacco or modern oral nicotine products.

It is also clear that New Jersey retailers are not the source of widespread youth access to pouches. Between January 2024 and October 2025, the FDA conducted 12,983 compliance inspections in the state with minors attempting to purchase tobacco or nicotine products. Although the overall violation rate was 22.9 percent, 61.4 percent of violations involved cigars, while only 2.1 percent (64 sales) involved oral nicotine pouches. This further demonstrates that youth access to low-risk oral products is minimal.

Like many proposals in New Jersey, S 4820 ignores decades of evidence supporting harm reduction and the scientific consensus that tobacco products exist on a continuum of risk. Combustible cigarettes cause nearly all smoking-related disease; nicotine itself, while addictive, is not the primary driver of tobacco mortality. Non-combustible products – including snus, nicotine replacement therapies, and oral nicotine pouches – are dramatically less harmful. Numerous reviews confirm this: a 2009 analysis of 89 studies found “very little evidence” that smokeless tobacco increases cancer risk compared to non-users, and a 2011 review estimated snus to be 99 percent less hazardous than smoking. The Swedish experience with snus demonstrates how shifting consumers from smoking to safer non-combustible products can drive some of the world’s lowest rates of lung cancer and smoking-related disease.

Even the FDA acknowledges the public health potential of nicotine pouches. In January, the agency authorized 20 nicotine pouch products, citing substantially lower toxicant exposure compared to cigarettes and many smokeless products, and noting that a significant portion of users had switched from smoking. In September, the FDA launched a fast-track authorization program for additional pouch products – further reinforcing the agency’s recognition of tobacco harm reduction.

If New Jersey lawmakers are serious about reducing smoking, they should focus on using existing resources effectively rather than taxing safer alternatives. In 2023, the state collected $724.8 million in tobacco-related revenue, including $456.1 million from cigarette taxes, yet allocated only $7.1 million – less than 1 percent – to tobacco control programs. Over the past two decades, New Jersey has collected $19.4 billion in tobacco revenue but spent just $140.7 million on cessation and prevention. Redirecting even a fraction of this funding would do far more to reduce smoking than raising taxes on products proven to help adults quit.

New Jersey’s proposed tax hike on oral nicotine products and smokeless tobacco ignores both the science of harm reduction and the state’s own data showing historic declines in youth tobacco use. Rather than penalizing adults who switch to far safer alternatives, lawmakers should invest meaningfully in evidence-based cessation programs and adopt policies aligned with the continuum of risk. Raising taxes on low-risk products will only protect the cigarette market, discourage quitting, and undermine public health progress.

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.