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 taxes is the best way to reduce overall tobacco use.” She cited a statewide health‑cost figure: “Washington state spends $3,260,000,000 in annual healthcare on tobacco.” Megan Moore, executive director of the Washington State Public Health Association, told the panel that a 10% increase in tobacco taxes is “associated with a 6.5% reduction in youth use and a 2% reduction in adult tobacco use,” and said the products’ packaging and low price make them appealing to youth. Scott Waller of the Washington Association for Substance Misuse and Violence Prevention pointed to past state experience after the 2010 tax increase and urged the committee to “please pass HB 2,033 to extend tobacco taxes to synthetic tobacco products.”

Opponents — including retailers, convenience store operators and business groups — said the products can be a harm‑reduction tool for adult smokers and that a steep tax risked pushing customers back to combustible tobacco or into untaxed sources. Doug Ball of Jackson’s Food Stores said nicotine pouches occupy “the far right of the least harmful products” on an FDA risk continuum and warned that the proposal could add “over $1,400 a year in taxes” for a daily user. Store managers Glenda Giles and Tiffany Coberly shared personal accounts of customers who switched from smoking to pouches and said higher prices could reverse those gains.

Retail representatives raised questions about usage rates and enforcement. Katie Beeson of the Washington Food Industry Association noted the FDA had authorized certain nicotine‑pouch marketing and said youth use was “very, very low” at 1.8% in 2024. Crystal Leatherman (identified as representing the Washington Veil Association in testimony) said the proposal would raise an average pouch price from about $5.99 by roughly 95% to more than $11 and warned that the change would increase illicit or out‑of‑state purchases; she cited a study she said shows 37% of tobacco products consumed in Washington are obtained from outside the regulated market.

Other opponents framed the proposal as a revenue and competitiveness risk. Max Martin of the Association of Washington Business said Washington faces a multibillion‑dollar shortfall and that higher taxes would likely accelerate cross‑border purchases and reduce state tax revenue.

The committee took questions from members during and after testimony on health evidence, FDA findings, youth access and enforcement; representatives asked witnesses to provide supporting studies and data cited during testimony. The chair closed public testimony on HB 2,033 and the committee moved into executive session; the transcript records no committee vote on HB 2,033 during this meeting.