Yeech! $10-$15 for a schmeck tabak? We pay $3 or less here in Ukraine where you can get it at any tobacconist. I guess it is taxed like cigarettes in the US.
The odor is artificial. A friend of a friend of mine in EY makes and sells his own and one Shabbos when I met him he confirmed to me what I already knew – he treats ground tobacco with chemical extracts to create the odor. Absolutely no brocho required.