Bipartisan Nicotine Policy: Why Tobacco Is One of the Few Things Both Parties Agree On
Tobacco 21 passed with bipartisan support. The synthetic nicotine amendment passed with bipartisan support. Nicotine policy is one of the few areas of genuine bipartisan cooperation—and the cooperation is fragile, contingent, and under threat.
Tobacco 21 passed because 'protecting kids' is a universal political value. The synthetic nicotine amendment passed because 'closing a loophole' is a universal political instinct. **Nicotine policy has been an island of bipartisanship in a polarized political landscape—but the island is shrinking. The harm reduction debate is becoming partisan (libertarians and some progressives support it; the public health establishment, aligned with Democrats, opposes it). The era of easy bipartisan nicotine legislation may be ending.**
