By Sen. June Robinson / For The Herald
Washington has worked hard to reduce smoking rates and protect people from the worst harms of tobacco. But the nicotine industry has not gone away; it has adapted.
Today, nicotine is being sold in new forms, in new flavors, and with marketing designed to hook the next generation. That is not an accident. It is a business model. And the cost shows up in our communities: in addiction, long-term health risks and preventable disease that strains families and our health care system.
That is why I introduced Senate Bill 6129.
This bill is rooted in a simple principle: If nicotine products continue to create serious public health harms, the companies profiting from them should help pay for the public health response.
Public health is not optional. It is the work that keeps communities strong before a crisis hits. It is prevention programs that help young people avoid addiction in the first place. It is the support that helps people quit. It is the capacity local health departments need to respond quickly when new threats emerge. When we fail to invest in that work, we do not save money but shift the cost onto families, providers, and communities.
SB 6129 modernizes Washington’s approach to nicotine taxes, so our policies reflect today’s marketplace, not the one we faced decades ago. It updates how the state taxes cigarettes and other nicotine products, including additional taxes on flavored products, because we know flavors are often used to make nicotine more appealing and easier to start using, especially for young people.
But this bill is not just about tax policy. It is about protecting what matters most.
SB 6129 strengthens the connection between nicotine tax revenue and the public priorities Washingtonians care about: stable funding for foundational public health services and continued support for cancer research. Those investments matter because they help Washington prevent harm, not just respond to it after the fact. They help communities build the staffing and systems needed to protect public health across the state, year after year.
This is not about punishing anyone. It is about responsibility and fairness. Washington should not allow an industry to generate profits while communities are left to carry the long-term costs alone. We should not accept a future where more young people become addicted, and more families experience the heartbreak of preventable disease, simply because the market shifted faster than our laws.
SB 6129 is a practical step forward that matches our values. It puts public health first. It protects kids. It supports prevention. And it reinforces something Washington should never compromise on: the health of our people is worth defending, and it is worth funding.
We can choose to lead. We can choose to invest in the systems that keep people healthy and communities resilient. Senate Bill 6129 helps Washington do exactly that.
Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, represents the 38th Legislative District in the Washington state Senate. She is the chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee and a member of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee. Since joining the Legislature in 2013, Robinson has been a leading voice on public health investments and health care policy, working to lower costs, expand access, and ensure high-quality care for all Washingtonians.
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