Blowing Smoke: The changing landscape of nicotine

While Tennessee still ranks as one of the worst states for adult smoking, the landscape itself is complex. Cigarette smoking in the state has declined over the past two decades. But products like vapes and the more modern nicotine pouches have captivated the same audience. As January — the 'Quit Smoking Month' — rounded out, local smoke shop workers said trends behind the products are changing. The Laboratory Smoke Shop & THCA also sells tabacco products, like regular cigarettes, to its customers. OLIVIA PERRY/SIX RIVERS MEDIA Cigarettes on the decline, vapes trending Cigarette sales have been on a steady decline, according to those in the space. Kaitlin Bailey, store manager of Planet Vapor in Johnson City, said many of the people coming in looking for a nicotine product are oftentimes trying to veer away from traditional smoking. Fogger brand is a popular product at Planet Vapor. OLIVIA PERRY/SIX RIVERS MEDIA "A lot of people are looking for something that's a little bit more convenient and cigarettes are seeming to become more expensive," she said. "Also, with some places allowing you to smoke inside with the disposables because it doesn't smell the same way and it doesn't create the same kind of smoke." Annual U.S. sales of cigarette packs declined by 27% from 2015 to 2021. While the nation is still a leading producer of tobacco, it's making less than it once did. There are about 90,000 less farms that harvest the plant now than in 1997. State sales taxes and increased prices on tobacco products has also decreased demand for the product nationwide. Sales for e-cigarettes, or vapes, surged in roughly the same time period. Non-tobacco flavors, like mint and menthol, are some of the most popular. Bailey said the majority of Planet Vapor sales come from nicotine disposables and that the store does not carry tobacco products of any kind. She added many who buy the store's limited non-nicotine products often say their purchase is influenced by their desire to quit smoking. "I would say I've had older people trying to quit and younger people trying to quit," she said. "I think just a lot of people are not wanting cigarettes nowadays, so everybody's coming here." But some are moving past vapes altogether with the rise of new products like nicotine pouches. Planet Vapor has a limited amount of zero-nicotine products for customers. OLIVIA PERRY/SIX RIVERS MEDIA Non-tobacco and non-nicotine Robbie Turner, manager of the Shamrock Beverage and Tobacco Shop, said pouches are becoming more popular among all ages. It may be a result of uncertainty around vape health effects, he added. Chemicals in vape flavors, for example, can cause serious lung disease. And the long-term effects of the product are still unknown since they've been popular for only a couple of decades. "I think a lot of people are at least more health conscious," Turner said. Nicotine pouch use has more than doubled in the past few years. National sales have increased from $452 million in 2020 to $1 billion in 2022. And it was the second most commonly used tobacco-derived product among youth in 2024. Zyn is a popular. brand of nicotine pouch OLIVIA PERRY/SIX RIVERS MEDIA Ashton Smyth, owner of The Laboratory Smoke Shop & THCA, said they've started carrying nicotine pouches because their hemp flower sales will plummet after changing regulations make it illegal July 1. Smyth's store carries disposable nicotine vapes and pouches alongside hemp and flower products. "We've started growing nicotine pouches – the variety that we carry – that's really picked up," he said. "I think a lot of people have kind of started to switch away from a nicotine vape and going to a nicotine pouch. I see those increasing and flower decreasing." Smyth said while the demographic is broad for his customer base, he often sees younger crowds drawn towards the vapes and nicotine pouches while older generations lean toward the hemp flower products. The Laboratory Smoke Shop & THCA's main non-nicotine product is hemp flower. OLIVIA PERRY/SIX RIVERS MEDIA "It is all over the place," he said. "I could not tell you who our average customer is. We've got 21-year-old college students to 80-year-old veterans." While the hemp is a driver for getting people in the door, Smyth said oftentimes customers lean toward the nicotine products when making their purchases. "We sell a lot of nicotine disposables by themselves, but most of the time they're coming in buying hemp flower in addition to that nicotine disposable," Smyth said. Some tobacco products still popular While the market around cigarettes, vapes and pouches is volatile and full of fads, some tobacco products remain timeless. Smyth said the tobacco products sold in the store are a mix of general cigarettes and cigars, though due to prices being higher for cigarettes, the cigars remain more popular among customers. "As far as the cigars go, somebody will buy the hemp flower and they'll buy a handful of those with their flower," Smyth said. "We sell a lot of tobacco as far as cigars go." Shamrock also has a wide assortment of cigar, pipe and other tobacco options. It doesn't carry many vapes. Turner doesn't feel a need to bring in every new product, especially when vape technology and local laws change so fast. Robbie Turner, manager of Shamrock Beverage and Tobacco Shop, helps a customer with pipe tobacco products Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. JOY MAZUR/SIX RIVERS MEDIA "There's so many companies trying to jump on the bandwagon of CBD or vape juice or nicotine pouches," he said. "I know I can get good stuff from reputable places that people already like." While cigars and pipes may seem like an old-guy habit, Turner said sales hold steady and the products are popular among everyone. He often sees new young faces buying them at the start of every college semester, for example. There's also a decent online community, he said, that influences people to try different tobacco and nicotine products. The shop often listens to what customers ask for. "A lot of times they'll know more about it than we do," he said. As customers came in to carefully sniff the store's pipe and cigar tobacco, stored in glass jars like candy, Turner added that almost everyone likes the smell of pipe smoke. "It reminds them of their dad or their Papaw," he said. Cigars at the Shamrock Beverage and Tobacco Shop. Turner said premium cigars are still popular and sales hold steady, even among younger adults. JOY MAZUR/SIX RIVERS MEDIA