Illinois now taxing Zyn and nicotine pouches
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Illinois just raised the tax on tobacco, which includes a slew of products beyond cigarettes.
Why it matters: Where the Marlboro Man or Joe Camel used to line the windows of convenience stores and gas stations, ads for Zyn nicotine pouches have taken over, appealing to young people with flavored products.
Driving the news: Illinois' 2026 budget increased the tobacco tax from 36% to 45%, and for the first time includes Zyn and other nicotine products on the list of products.
- The tax went into effect July 1 and is projected to raise about $53 million in new revenue.
How it works: Zyn pouches are placed between the gum and lip, gradually releasing nicotine over time, Axios Nathan Bomey reports.
- The pouches are discreet and don't produce smoke or odors like cigarettes.
- Individuals must be 21 to purchase the pouches.
By the numbers: Chicago ranks at the top in the U.S. for cigarette tax because of federal, state, county and local taxes, adding up to more than $7, making a pack cost as much as $20.
- A tin of Zyn starts at about $5.60, before tax, according to Tobacco Insider.
- Cool mint, spearmint and citrus-flavored Zyn sold at a Gold Coast smoke shop runs $9.92 with tax, after the new state tax has been imposed.
The intrigue: Indiana also raised its tobacco tax last month, with the cigarette tax going from $1 per pack to nearly $3 and alternative tobacco products, like nicotine pouches, up to 50 cents per ounce and a proportionate tax at the same rate.
Threat level: Zyn is addictive because nicotine is addictive, but it does not contain tobacco, whose harmful chemicals are carcinogenic.
- "Zyn and other nicotine pouch products pose a substantial threat to the health of our kids," Yolanda Richardson from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said earlier this year.
- "The U.S. Surgeon General has found that youth use of nicotine in any form is unsafe, can cause addiction and can harm adolescent brain development, particularly the parts of the brain responsible for attention, memory and learning."
- U.S. youth using nicotine pouch products more than doubled in recent years, from 200,000 in 2021 to 480,000 in 2024, according to the organization.
The other side: Stacey Kennedy, CEO for Philip Morris International U.S., argued that nicotine is "misunderstood" and contains "cognitive benefits."
- "Nicotine is probably one of the most misunderstood compounds, because many people believe that nicotine is responsible for smoking-related disease, and it's not," Kennedy told Axios.
- "When you raise the price of these smoke-free options, these better alternatives, it's harder for them to get those — and they may just stick with their cigarettes," Brian Erkkila, director of regulatory science for Swedish Match, North America — the company that manufactures Zyn — told CBS News about the higher tax in Illinois.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove the implication that tobacco and nicotine products are more expensive in Indiana.