Flavored nicotine pouches banned from sale in California for nearly four years could return to store shelves if Republican Steve Hilton is elected governor.
Hilton said he asked Californians which bureaucratic rule they most wanted eliminated. The state’s restrictions on Zyn and other flavored nicotine pouches ranked at the top of the list, he said.
The proposal is part of Hilton’s planned “Office of Fun and Freedom,” an initiative he says would target California’s burdensome, big-government regulations and other “pointless killjoy rules.”
“There’s no medical reason or health reason why you shouldn’t be able to buy flavored pouches like you can in other states,” Hilton said. He noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized 20 Zyn products for sale, including flavored varieties.
California currently bans the sale of most flavored nicotine pouches, including Zyn products. The state later broadened the restriction to cover products that deliver a “cooling sensation.”
Hilton’s campaign acknowledged that nicotine is addictive but argued that adults should be free to make their own choices.
“It’s actually one of the clearest examples of what happens when government thinks it can control everything, whether it’s controlling flavored Zyns or taking away your tires,” state Assemblymember David Tangipa (R) said Thursday at a Hilton press conference in Fresno County.
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California’s ban may not be particularly effective, however. The manager of the Loma Vista Travel Plaza gas station, where Hilton held the event, said customers continue to ask about flavored Zyn products.
“People tell us they can buy it from other states or online,” the manager said, adding that the store loses business because it cannot sell the products.
Hilton made a similar argument, describing the ban as “pointless” and “ridiculous.”
Under Hilton’s proposal, the current age requirement and penalties for selling nicotine products to minors would remain in effect. Products not reviewed and authorized by the FDA would still be excluded, and California’s restrictions on flavored cigarettes would not change.
The proposal drew support from many users on social media.
“It makes zero sense we can’t get flavored pouches here. CA allows people to buy weed and shrooms but God forbid you want coffee or wintergreen flavored pouches. It’s ridiculous,” one user said.
Others said the policy could help Hilton attract additional support.
“As a life long progressive Democrat I love this idea,” another user said. “Literally every single person I know that vapes still buys flavored vapes, but they’re getting charged 4x the price by smoke shops. The bans never work. I thought we learned that.”
Public health advocates, however, say the ban is necessary because flavored nicotine pouches are part of the tobacco industry’s effort to attract and addict young people.
In 2022, California voters approved a ballot measure upholding the state’s ban on the sale of certain flavored tobacco products, with 63.5% voting in favor.
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