U.S. Congressional Caucus on Tobacco Harm Reduction Established with Support from Philip Morris Inte

According to foreign reports today, a congressional caucus dedicated to encouraging tobacco harm reduction is being established with the support of Philip Morris International (PMI). The caucus is an informal group that gathers to pursue common legislative goals.

The existence of the caucus was first reported by Politico earlier this week, which noted that PMI hired lobbyists in January to advocate for tobacco harm reduction, FDA oversight, and the establishment of a harm reduction caucus. The lobbyists are former congressional staffers associated with health issues, one of whom also worked at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Yesterday, STAT News reported that the caucus will be co-chaired by Pennsylvania Republican Representative Guy Reschenthaler and North Carolina Democrat Don Davis. Reschenthaler is serving as the chief deputy whip in the Republican-controlled House during his third term. Davis is a first-term congressman and is also part of the Congressional Black Caucus.

What will the Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus do?

The caucus will provide a forum to discuss all aspects of this public health debate, including preventing underage youth use, risk-based taxation, methods to enhance public understanding of lower-risk alternative products, and regulatory processes for managing these products.

Tobacco harm reduction—commonly referred to as THR—is a strategy to reduce tobacco risks by encouraging smokers to switch to lower-risk tobacco or non-combustible nicotine products. Examples of THR products include e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products (HTP). The tobacco industry did not invent the concept or term THR.

In recent years, Congress has debated and voted on many bills related to e-cigarettes, nicotine, and tobacco—most of which have not had effective input from voices supporting THR. Moreover, while PMI may be a driving force behind the formation of the caucus, independent e-cigarette industry and e-cigarette consumers can also seek to participate and influence the discussion.

Establishing a caucus dedicated to protecting the interests of e-cigarette and nicotine consumers and the industry could be a valuable tool to overturn the congressional dominance established by anti-e-cigarette and tobacco organizations, such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and its allies. These groups have spent millions of dollars to influence the debate and push for prohibitive policy directions.

"The THR caucus is a positive step, and we look forward to seeing its development," said Gregory Conley, director of legislative and external affairs for the American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM), to Vaping360. "Adult e-cigarette users and small business owners should contact their congressional representatives and explain why they consider joining such an important initiative."

PMI's lobbying efforts come as the company enters the U.S. market, where it will not sell combustible tobacco products. Despite sharing the name Philip Morris, PMI is no longer associated with Altria Group's Philip Morris USA, which sells Marlboro cigarettes in the U.S. PMI separated from the original Philip Morris Company in 2008 and later rebranded as Altria. (PMI does sell cigarettes outside the U.S.)

Last November, PMI acquired Swedish Match for $16 billion, securing a foothold in the U.S. low-risk nicotine market. Swedish MATCH sells the market leader ZYN nicotine pouches, as well as traditional oral tobacco. PMI also plans to sell its heated tobacco product IQOS in the U.S. starting next year after repurchasing U.S. licensing rights.

In 2019, Swedish Match became the first company to receive the FDA's Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) designation for its eight general brand snus varieties. PMI's HTP products IQOS and IQOS Heatstick pods received a second MRTP in 2020.

PMI sells e-cigarette products (IQOS VEEV) in Europe but does not sell them in the U.S., which requires FDA authorization through the premarket tobacco application (PMTA) process. According to reports from January, PMI is one of the tobacco companies considering collaborating with (or acquiring) JUUL Labs.

Earlier this year, as PMI expanded its influence in the U.S., it hired prominent e-cigarette industry advocates Paul Blair (formerly of Turning Point Brands) and Amanda Wheeler (Jvapes and the American Vapor Manufacturers Association) for government affairs positions.

PMI is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. #p#分页标题#e#