Robert F Kennedy Jr appeared to pop a nicotine pouch while pretending to cough during an announcement in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The health secretary appeared alongside the president to announce the launch of TrumpRx, a website that will allow customers to buy prescription drugs directly instead of going through insurance.
While RFK Jr’s apparent nicotine fix might have gone unnoticed, many watching will be familiar with the oral habit.
The 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey by the FDA and CDC found 1.8 percent of U.S. middle and high school students say they currently using nicotine pouches, though this estimate is likely low because some students are unwilling to admit to drug, alcohol and tobacco use.
Some users claim the products have a myriad of health benefits, from more confidence to better sexual performance and even weight loss, with some dubbing it ‘O-Zyn-pic’.
But they also have a number of negative health effects, including nicotine addiction, sores emerging in the mouth and gums. And some users report lower or higher-than-usual heart rates with use.
During the meeting in the Oval Office, Trump sparked laughter when he joked about Kennedy sneezing.
The president was bragging about reducing the prices of insulin during his first administration, but took a beat to say: ‘God bless you, Bobby.’
‘I hope I didn’t catch Covid just there,’ he joked as laughter erupted from the officials lined up behind him.
Robert F Kennedy Jr was seen using a cough to covertly put something in his mouth – which appeared to be a nicotine pouch or gum – at a press conference with the president Tuesday
Donald Trump also had a mock Covid scare in a throwback moment at the press briefing when his health secretary sneezed just a foot away from him
Trump then turned to Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla to ask: ‘Don’t you have Paxlovid? He’s got Paxlovid. Give me a Paxlovid immediately.’
The president was referencing an antiviral medication that’s manufactured by Pfizer and used to treat Covid-19 in high-risk individuals.
The moment between Trump and RFK Jr was reminiscent of a March 2020 press conference where Trump dramatically distanced himself from his first-term health advisor Deborah Birx when she talked about a scare.
‘Saturday, I had a little low-grade fever,’ Birx said during a press conference at the time, to which Trump interrupted with ‘uh-oh’ and took a few steps away.
‘I got a test late Saturday night, and I’m negative,’ she added.
‘Phew,’ the president breathed out. ‘Thank you for saying that. Thank you very much.’
While the US has not been in a pandemic for years, the joke on Tuesday was a throwback to recent times when people were nervous to stand too close to each other or else catch Covid.
Years later, Trump is now working on a different mission at HHS: Make America Healthy Again.
‘I hope I didn’t catch Covid just there,’ Trump joked as laughter erupted from the officials lined up behind him at the Oval Office press conference today
And part of that is bringing down drug prices.
Pfizer’s chief executive Bourla was at the White House on Tuesday with the president and his top health team to announce the launch of TrumpRx.
The deal is part of Trump’s bigger plan to increase fairness and allow Americans to pay the same price for prescription drugs that people pay overseas.
Under the deal Pfizer is to charge ‘Most Favored Nation’ pricing – matching the lowest price offered in other wealthy nations – to Medicaid, the US health insurance program for low-income Americans.
Drug costs for consumers in the United States can depend on several variables, notably insurance coverage.
Many people receive insurance through an employer, the health insurance market or government programs including Medicare, which is for seniors, and the safety net Medicaid.
It is not clear how Tuesday’s deal will impact drug pricing in the commercial insurance market.
The announcement comes as drugmakers gird for a 100-percent tariff Trump said he would impose on branded pharmaceutical products entering the country from October 1 – unless companies were building manufacturing plants in the United States.
But details surrounding the rollout remain unclear.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed sector-specific tariffs on imports like steel, aluminum and autos, while launching investigations into other areas like pharmaceuticals that could lead to new levies.
Asked Tuesday about the timeline for fresh tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration plans to allow negotiations with companies to play out.
