State Tobacco Legislation in 2025 Tackled Vaping, Nicotine Pouches, and More

At the end of each year, our policy analysts share insights on the issues that have been at the forefront of state legislatures throughout the session during their review of thousands of bills across all 50 states. Here are the big developments and high-level trends we saw last year in the tobacco policy space, plus what you can expect in 2026.

2025 State Tobacco Policy Developments

As traditional cigarettes continue to be replaced by other forms of nicotine consumption, states have shifted their legislative focus. This year saw a marked increase in attention toward taxing and regulating alternative nicotine pouches, while vapor products also remain a popular target for lawmakers.

Tobacco Tax Increases Across Multiple States

Tax increases on tobacco products were enacted in several states this year. Alabama imposed a new tax on consumable vapor products. Hawaii increased its state cigarette tax. Indiana legislators increased taxes on a number of tobacco products, including cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, closed system vapor cartridges, and electronic cigarettes. Maine also increased the state cigarette tax, smokeless tobacco and snuff tax, and the OTP tax. Nebraska imposed a tax on nicotine analogue products. New Jersey increased taxes on cigarettes and liquid nicotine products. Rhode Island and Washington imposed new taxes on products made from or derived from tobacco or that contain nicotine. Tennessee imposed a 10% tax on the wholesale cost price of vapor products.

At least 17 other states sought to increase state cigarette excise taxes in 2025: Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington. And more than 20 states introduced legislation to increase taxes on vapor products: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Bills were introduced in Michigan and West Virginia that would repeal all taxes on tobacco products, but neither received serious consideration. Three states, Colorado, Hawaii, and Ohio, considered bills specific to taxing premium cigars. Five other states proposed cigar tax increases: Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Other Tobacco Product (OTP) tax increases were proposed in Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia.

Premium Cigar Tax Cap Legislation

As tax rates on tobacco products continue to increase, there has been a push to limit the taxes imposed on what are referred to as premium cigars. These products are generally taxed on a percentage basis, so the tax on one premium cigar can be quite prohibitive. These high tax rates have incentivized some customers to purchase cigars over the internet to avoid taxes. In an effort to keep local cigar sales competitive with online sales, several states have considered legislation to cap the tax on an individual cigar at a set maximum. Tax cap bills were introduced this year in at least 11 states, with most of the bills seeking a cap of $0.50/cigar. A bill in Washington state would have repealed the tax cap. Louisiana enacted a two-year temporary cigar tax cap of $0.50/cigar, while Indiana went the other way in 2025, with the state raising the tax cap from $1.00/cigar to $3.00/cigar.

State Regulation of Flavored Tobacco Products

In 2009, following passage of the Tobacco Control Act, the US FDA banned flavored cigarettes, arguing that flavored cigarettes largely appealed to underage smokers. The FDA allowed menthol cigarettes to remain legal at the time, until 2021, when the agency agreed to promulgate rules making menthol cigarettes illegal as well. However, in January of this year, the FDA withdrew the proposed rules, meaning a federal ban will not take place any time soon.

States, however, continue to regulate flavored tobacco and vapor products. In 2025, 11 states introduced legislation to prohibit flavored tobacco and/or vapor products. New York also introduced legislation that would ban flavored nicotine pouches. Massachusetts legislators introduced bills to amend their existing ban, while a bill was filed in Minnesota to preempt local flavor bans. A Utah legislator introduced a bill to repeal the state’s existing flavor ban on vapor products.

Vapor Product Directory Requirements and Nicotine Pouch Taxation

FDA-Approved Vapor Product Lists

Legislation establishing vapor product directories (or Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA)) continued to proliferate in 2025. These bills restrict sales of vapor products to those that have been approved for sale by the FDA after submitting a PMTA. The FDA has only authorized about two dozen such products through the PMTA process, so these bills have the potential to prohibit the sales of many vapor products. Vapor product directory bills generally create state-maintained lists of allowed products. Manufacturers would have to provide proof of FDA approval or proof that a PMTA is pending.

At least 26 states considered vapor product directory legislation in 2025, and two states, Arkansas and Tennessee, enacted directory legislation. Three states, Alabama, Utah, and Wisconsin, introduced bills to amend their registry laws, while legislators in Kentucky and North Carolina filed bills to repeal the directories. Legislators in Mississippi introduced legislation to create a cigarette sales directory.

Emerging Nicotine Pouch Tax Legislation

Bills seeking to establish taxes on nicotine pouches exploded on the scene in 2025. Legislators in at least 20 states introduced bills to tax nicotine pouches: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. Indiana increased its tax on pouches from $0.40 to $0.50/ounce. Oregon enacted a bill that imposes a tax of $0.0325/unit, with a minimum of $0.65 on packages with 20 or fewer units. Rhode Island added nicotine pouches to its OTP tax category, therefore taxing them at 80% of wholesale price.

2026 Tobacco Policy Outlook

As consumers continue to move away from traditional cigarettes and toward products such as vapor products, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products will continue to capture attention from legislators. States will continue to consider how, and if, to tax and regulate these products.

Tracking State Tobacco Legislation

MultiState’s team is actively identifying and tracking tobacco issues so that businesses and organizations have the information they need to navigate and effectively engage. If your organization would like to further track these or other related issues, please contact us.