The Item You Don’t Want on Your Back-to-School Shopping List

By: Emily Anderson, Director of Policy at Association for Non-Smokers MN

The start of a new school year is supposed to be an exciting time filled with new possibilities. Students are heading back to classrooms, reconnecting with friends, joining activities, and looking ahead to everything a new year might bring. But alongside those opportunities comes something that doesn’t belong in any student’s future: nicotine addiction.

Most adults know what a cigarette looks like. That’s not the challenge anymore. If you emptied out a student’s backpack, would you know which items contain nicotine and which don’t?

Many of today’s nicotine products don’t look anything like the commercial tobacco products most adults grew up with. Current nicotine products are designed to be discreet and easy to hide. Some are packaged in ways that don’t immediately raise any red flags. Nicotine products and pouches come in flavors that sound more like something you’d find in a candy store rather than a product containing an addictive substance. Others are sold in sleek packaging with names and branding that can make them appear harmless, modern, or even fun.

And that’s not an accident.

The tobacco industry continues to adapt its products to attract new generations that might never have considered smoking a cigarette. As awareness of the harms of commercial tobacco has grown and smoking rates have declined, companies have introduced new nicotine products and new ways to market them. The products might look different than they did years ago, but their goal remains the same: get people to use nicotine and keep them coming back.

The beginning of the school year is when students are meeting new people and finding their place. Students are trying new things, whether it’s joining a club or trying out for a sport. Most of these experiences are positive and will help young people grow. But they also create opportunities for nicotine products to enter the picture, especially when those products are flavored, inexpensive, and easy to get.

When nicotine products are sold in flavors that resemble candy, mint, or fruit, it’s fair to ask who those products are designed to appeal to. When those same products are sold at prices that make them easy for young people to afford, it’s fair to ask who is most likely to become the next customer.

St. Paul is asking those questions right now.

City leaders are considering extending minimum price requirements to nicotine pouches and vaping products, bringing them in line with other commercial tobacco products already covered by local policy. It’s a discussion rooted in a simple reality: price matters. The cheaper a product is, the easier it is for young people to experiment with it.

No one is suggesting that minimum pricing alone will solve youth nicotine use. But if we’re serious about preventing addiction, we can’t ignore the role that flavors, marketing, and low prices play in making nicotine products attractive and accessible in the first place.

As students head back to school this fall, we’ll spend time talking about academic success, mental health, and preparing for the future. We should also be talking about the products competing for their attention, especially when those products are designed to be appealing, affordable, and addictive.

Because when we ask whether Big Tobacco is in a student’s backpack, we’re really asking a bigger question: are we doing enough to keep nicotine addiction out of our schools and communities?

The item no one wants on a back-to-school shopping list isn’t another notebook or backpack. It’s a nicotine addiction.

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