New York imposed a 75% tax on the wholesale price of alternative nicotine products, including pouches and gum, on Tuesday. Albany says it will protect younger residents from Big Tobacco’s predation. But ex-smokers are most affected: switching away from cigarettes is now pricier and less safe. Meanwhile, the black market for these products will boom.

“Alternative nicotine products like Zyn have proliferated in corner stores across the state, threatening to hook New Yorkers on harmful, addictive substances,” Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D-NY) office wrote in a press statement. The law, which subjects oral nicotine pouches, gum, and lozenges to the same tax treatment as traditional tobacco products, keeps “barriers in place to prevent youth usage.”

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