Every year, tobacco firms spend millions of dollars on lobbying in the United States in an effort to undermine, postpone, or eliminate public health regulations that might save lives. In the middle of a worldwide respiratory epidemic in 2021, ASH started monitoring the registrations of lobbying firms and lobbyists for the tobacco industry. At that time, the business was spending significantly more at the federal level to undermine measures related to public health and tobacco control. Regretfully, lobbying efforts have kept Big Tobacco’s powerful influence in Washington, DC until an undisclosed future, delaying the crucial decision to outlaw the sale of menthol cigarettes.
Financial ties
Nearly half (538) of the 2024 registrations are for businesses such as Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI), Juul, and Altria that are either controlled by or have a license arrangement with federally adjudicated racketeers. This is an important point to make because lobbying itself is not bad; the trouble comes when you are advocating on behalf of a sector of the economy that is controlled by federally adjudicated racketeers, particularly those whose goods are lethal when used as intended. There were 315 lobbyists or lobbying firms registered with Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris USA), spanning all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 48 states were covered by the 197 lobbyists and lobbying companies that Reynolds American has registered. With combined ownership of Swedish Match since 2023, Philip Morris International (PMI) Global Services has 145 lobbyist or lobbying company registrations altogether, spanning 38 states. The majority of lobbyists and lobbying firms in the tobacco business were also registered to represent a wide range of other clients. Interestingly, public data show that, as opposed to individual lobbyists, 12 states and the District of Columbia let or mandate lobbying companies to register. The tobacco industry is frequently able to conceal from the public the precise number and identities of specific lobbyists operating on their behalf in certain states due to the fact that lobbying companies frequently hire a large number of lobbyists.
Policy targets
In some areas, registrations have climbed and in others, they have declined since ASH started monitoring tobacco industry lobbying in 2021. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had the same number of registrations in 2024 as they did in 2021, while 23 states had more than that number. Overall, 2024 registrations represent a 2.5% rise over base year registrations from 2021 and a 10.7% increase above statistics from 2023. There will be 100 more registrations in 2024 compared to 2023. This overall growing trend for tobacco lobbying registrations continues, even if Juul had an 81% decline in registrations as of 2024. In particular, 927 people registered in 2023 and 1027 in 2024. The number of lobbyists that Philip Morris International (PMI) Global Services and Swedish Match together employ in the US has significantly increased since 2023. This merger has demonstrated a significant change in lobbying tactics, as PMI Global Services, to our knowledge, has never before had any registered lobbyists in the US. Swedish Match employed 8 lobbyists and 3 lobbying companies in 2021; by 2024, they employed 128 lobbyists and 17 lobbying firms, a 200% increase under PMI’s management.
Lobbying tactics
According to a recent study from the anti-smoking advocacy group Action on Smoking and Health, tobacco industry lobbyists are flooding statehouses around the country, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Tallahassee, Florida. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of tobacco company-affiliated lobbying registrations increased by more than 10%. Based on data on lobbying registration that is accessible to the public, ASH’s total figure is probably an underestimate because several states only require lobbying firms, not individual lobbyists, to register with them. Keep a close eye on the tobacco industry’s lobbying efforts in your state to understand its impact over policy and work to resist it. Recognize patterns in the tobacco industry’s lobbying endeavors to remain knowledgeable and aggressive in your advocacy work. Use tracker data to target legislators and local leaders with outreach that emphasizes the need to bar the tobacco business and its lobbyists from government policy-making, as well as the harm that tobacco industry lobbying does to public health. Utilize the tracker’s findings to strengthen your activism by developing proposals for policies based on solid facts and pushing for strict laws to counteract the influence of the tobacco industry.
Influence networks
In order to campaign for particular legislation in decision-making organizations like the US Congress, special interest groups pay well-connected professional advocates, frequently attorneys, to engage in paid lobbying in the US. Journalists and the general public in America frequently see it poorly; detractors see it as a kind of extortion, influence peddling, or bribery.
