By Emma Rumney
LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) – Six U.S. senators, including Democratic whip Dick Durbin and Elizabeth Warren, wrote public letters to tobacco giants Reynolds American and Altria on Thursday to ask questions about donations and lobbying of the Trump administration, saying the companies had enjoyed a “lucrative payday” after spending millions to curry favour with the president.
The letter comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration laid out a new “enforcement discretion” policy in which it will allow some manufacturers to sell vapes and nicotine pouches without the legally required licence. The move could unleash hundreds or more vapes onto the market, and followed pressure from the White House for change.
It also followed political donations from both Reynolds, the U.S. subsidiary of British American Tobacco, and Altria as recently as April, and a meeting between President Donald Trump and tobacco executives in May.
“Money well spent,” the letters, dated June 4, said, adding that the donations and lobbying had enabled tobacco makers to circumvent federal laws to sell addictive vapes, harming the FDA’s independence.
“But for you and your shareholders, this was a lucrative payday after years of unsuccessful legislative and regulatory efforts to weaken federal tobacco oversight,” it said, asking for details on donations, meetings and products that will benefit from the change.
“FDA’s regulatory treatment of nicotine pouches and vapes is rooted in recent evidence that has found that these products can help adults quit smoking,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.
An Altria spokesperson said “the guidance is an important step toward addressing the illicit market by pairing enforcement with expansion of a legal, regulated marketplace for smoke-free products,” adding that the company is reviewing the implications of its product strategy and will continue to compete within the FDA regulated marketplace.
Reynolds did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The companies have complained for years that FDA policy has helped fuel a booming market for unlicensed devices mostly from China. Reynolds estimates this illegal market is worth some £7 billion ($9.41 billion).
The companies have launched lobbying campaigns and court cases, put sales targets on hold and threatened to launch their own unlicensed products to compete.
Tobacco companies have already announced plans to launch new products following the “enforcement discretion” policy.
The letters were signed by Democratic senators Durbin of Illinois, Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
($1 = 0.7435 pound)
(Reporting by Emma Rumney in London; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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