North America: Market data & legal analysis of the nicotine sector

18th March 2025: US - Kentucky: Senate Bill (SB) 100 has been passed by both chambers and now goes to the governor. SB100 would establish a licensing system requiring retailers to obtain a $500 annual licence to sell alternative nicotine products, tobacco products or authorised nicotine vapour products. It would empower department investigators to inspect licensed premises without a warrant and introduce stricter penalties for selling these products to individuals under 21, including escalating fines for repeat violations and potential licence revocation. If the bill is signed into law by governor Andy Beshear, Kentucky will join 40 other states with similar programmes preventing retailers from selling vaping products to kids and teenagers.
13th March 2025: US - Massachusetts: House Bill (HB) 3067 has been introduced. HB 3067 would introduce a new tax on oral nicotine products in Massachusetts, defining them as non-combustible nicotine-containing products in solid, gum, or paste form that are intended for oral consumption or absorption. The bill would establish a $2 per oz excise tax on these products. Currently, nicotine pouches are not taxed in Massachusetts.
11th March 2025: US - Massachusetts: Senate Bill (SB) 1568 has been introduced. SB 1568 would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to individuals born on or after 1st January 2006.
10th March 2025: Canada: On 7th March, minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health, Ya'ara Saks, announced that the new Tobacco Charges Regulations will introduce a Tobacco Cost Recovery Framework. This framework aims to shift the financial burden of public health efforts to reduce tobacco use from taxpayers to tobacco companies, while reinforcing corporate accountability. In August 2024, Health Canada published a consultation document outlining the proposed framework, which includes an annual fee for designated tobacco product manufacturers and importers. The fee will be calculated based on each manufacturer’s share of the domestic tobacco market and will be subject to yearly adjustments. Vaping products are not included in the scope of this framework.
10th March 2025: US - Federal: A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) between 2017 and 2023 – reveals that the prevalence of exclusive smoking dropped by 27%, from 10.8% to 7.9%, while exclusive vaping surged from 1.2% to 4.1%, increasing the number of vapers from 2.9m to 10.1m. This trend is particularly evident among adults aged between 25 and 44, where smoking rates declined from 12% to 7.6%, while vaping rose significantly from 1.5% to 6.1%. Similarly, in the 45-64 age group, smoking decreased from 13.2% to 11.2%, while vaping grew from 0.8% to 2%. The report highlights that the decline of 6.8m smokers was nearly offset by a 7.2m increase in exclusive vapers, indicating a major shift from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
7th March 2025: Canada: Ontario Superior Court chief justice Geoffrey Morawetz approved a CAD32.5bn (USD22.6bn) settlement, in which three major tobacco companies will compensate provinces, territories and former smokers. The agreement, reached with creditors by Japan Tobacco International-Macdonald, Imperial Tobacco Canada, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, received unanimous approval by the creditors in a mid-December vote. Under the plan, the companies will pay over CAD24bn (USD16.7bn) to provinces and territories over approximately two decades. Meanwhile, plaintiffs in the Quebec lawsuits will receive more than CAD4bn (USD2.8bn) to be distributed among them. An additional CAD2.5bn (USD1.7bn) is allocated to compensate Canadian smokers not covered by the lawsuits, while over CAD1bn (USD697m) will fund a foundation dedicated to combating tobacco-related diseases.
7th March 2025: US - Mississippi: House Bill (HB) 916 has been passed by both the House and the Senate and now goes to the governor. HB 916 would create public state directories for both cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products. The bill would require manufacturers to pay a fee for each of their products and provide detailed information about them, including brand names, flavours, and proof of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing authorisation or premarket tobacco product application (PMTA). If the bill is signed by the governor, only products listed in the official directories would be able to be sold in Mississippi from 1st October 2025.
4th March 2025: US - Federal: US Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin, along with several Senate Democratic colleagues, has introduced the End Tobacco Loopholes Act to close tax-code loopholes on tobacco products. The proposed legislation would impose a federal tax on e-cigarettes, aligning with policies in 30 states, while also updating the federal cigarette tax rate for the first time in over 15 years. Additionally, it seeks to standardise tax rates across all tobacco products to prevent industry exploitation. Lawmakers emphasise that raising tobacco prices is the most effective strategy to curb consumption, especially among children. In 2023, legislators introduced the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2023, a bill identical to the newly proposed End Tobacco Loopholes Act, but it failed to pass at the federal level.
21st February 2025: US - Florida: House Bill 785 has been introduced that would expand existing tobacco product definitions to explicitly include heated tobacco products (HTPs). The bill would modify the definition of “cigarette” to exclude HTPs and broaden the definition of “tobacco products” in multiple sections to include HTPs. These changes would recognise HTPs as a distinct category of tobacco product, separate from traditional cigarettes, and ensure they are subject to appropriate regulatory frameworks.
19th February 2025: US - Georgia: House Bill 96 has been introduced. The bill would amend Georgia’s tobacco tax law by increasing the excise tax on cigarettes from $0.37 to $1.37 per pack of 20 cigarettes. We understand that heated tobacco products (HTPs) would be taxed as cigarettes in Georgia. Since there is no separate category/legislation specifically addressing HTPs, the cigarette tax would be applied.
19th February 2025: US - Iowa: Senate Bill 1137 has been introduced. It would impose a tax on certain nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. For a vapour cartridge, the bill would impose a $1.15 tax per cartridge. For a nicotine pouch, the bill would impose a 6.8 cent tax per pouch. For a vapour product requiring the use of e-liquids, and e-liquids sold separately from a vapour cartridge, the bill would impose a tax of 15% upon the retail sales price. Currently, none of these products are taxed in the state. The definition of a vapour product would also include nicotine analogues.
19th February 2025: US - Arkansas: Senate Bill 252 has been introduced. It would establish a new directory system managed by Arkansas Tobacco Control, requiring manufacturers to certify their vapour and e-liquid products, with specific requirements for products to be legally sold in the state. Manufacturers would be obliged to demonstrate that their products were on the market as of 8th August 2016, have a pending premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or have received FDA marketing authorisation. The bill would also require all alternative nicotine products, including nicotine pouches and e-сigarettes, to be sold in child-resistant packaging. Additionally, the bill would prohibit advertising of such products that might appeal to children.

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