New York’s Flavour Ban is a Step Backwards for Public Health

New York has long prided itself on being progressive in matters of public health. Yet the latest proposal to ban flavoured nicotine pouches risks undermining that reputation. Senator Brad Hoylman Sigal and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal argue that flavours such as mint, coffee and menthol are designed to lure young people into nicotine use. Their solution is a blanket prohibition.

At first glance, the idea may sound sensible. Protecting youth from nicotine is a goal no one disputes. But a closer look reveals the unintended consequences of such a ban. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorised flavoured nicotine pouches on the grounds that they pose far fewer risks than cigarettes and could help adult smokers transition to safer alternatives. Removing these products from the legal market would strip away an important harm reduction tool.

New York has been down this road before. Its ban on flavoured e-cigarettes was intended to curb youth use but instead fuelled a thriving illicit market, leaving products completely unregulated and far more difficult to control. There is every reason to expect the same outcome if flavoured pouches are outlawed. Adults who currently rely on them could either turn to the black market or, worse, relapse to smoking.

It is also misleading to suggest that flavours are aimed solely at young people. Menthol has been a preferred option among adult smokers for decades, and many find flavoured pouches to be the only satisfying alternative to cigarettes. Stripping those options away treats adults as though they cannot be trusted to make informed choices about their own health.

The real danger lies in conflating nicotine itself with the harms of smoking. Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians have repeatedly stressed that it is combustion, not nicotine, that causes disease and death. Nicotine pouches contain no tobacco leaf, no smoke and none of the thousands of harmful chemicals created by burning. To equate them with cigarettes is a fundamental error in public health messaging.

New York’s lawmakers say this ban is about protecting young people, but in reality it risks prolonging smoking by denying adults access to less harmful products. The smarter path would be strict age controls, responsible retailing and clear education, not prohibition.

If the goal is truly to reduce harm and move toward a smoke-free future, New York should follow the evidence, not repeat past mistakes. A ban on flavoured nicotine pouches may play well politically, but it is a step backwards for public health.

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