As Oregon lawmakers race against time to secure funding for wildfire prevention, a new proposal to tax oral nicotine pouches passed the House. The bill, HB 3940 B, is now set to be reviewed by the Senate. State Senator Jeff Golden, a Democrat from Ashland, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “Right now, we are getting towards desperate on funding wildfire for the coming biennium,” he said. The proposed tax would impose a 0.65-cent fee on packs containing 20 or fewer pouches of products like Zyn and Rogue.
For packs with more than 20 pouches, a three-cent fee per pouch would be applied. This measure replaces an earlier plan to add a non-refundable fee to the bottle bill deposit, which was met with resistance from lawmakers. Governor Tina Kotek expressed her support for the tax, stating, “I do think we should tax nicotine products, and we’re talking about the types of new products that have nothing to do with smoking. They’re about pouches in your mouth. That is a highly addictive substance, and I do think it should be taxed.”
