Committee hears split testimony on bill to tax synthetic nicotine pouches

House Bill 2,033 drew competing public-health and industry arguments at a Finance Committee hearing, with supporters urging the committee to extend existing tobacco excise taxes to synthetic nicotine pouches and opponents warning the tax could discourage smokers from switching to lower‑risk products and increase cross‑border sales.

Representative Tana Stoner, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the committee the proposal is grounded in efforts with education and health-care partners showing “the tax rate can directly impact how many youth are using products that are harmful for them.” She described the bill as a “narrowed approach” and said she was consulting staff about definitions in an amendment she planned to bring.

The bill’s supporters framed taxation as a public‑health tool. Audrey Miller Garcia of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said, “Increasing tobacco excise…