Trump Pressed Health Officials on FDA Vapes After $5 Million Reynolds Donation

5 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 21

$5 million from a Reynolds American subsidiary went to Trump-backed super PAC MAGA Inc. on April 30, campaign finance filings showed, about a week before the administration unveiled a new vape policy seen as favorable to tobacco companies.
Two days after that donation, Trump lunched at his Jupiter, Florida, golf club with a Reynolds executive, two Reynolds lobbyists and two Altria executives, where industry representatives complained about FDA oversight of e-cigarettes.
Trump then called FDA Commissioner Marty Makary during the meeting and, when he did not answer, phoned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS chief Mehmet Oz to complain about the agency's e-cigarette regulation, according to people briefed on the lunch.
The episode links campaign money, direct industry access and a subsequent policy shift that could prove lucrative for major tobacco companies.

A tobacco giant donated $5M before a favorable policy change. How is the line between corporate influence and public health policy drawn?

Youth vaping rates fell sharply since 2019. Will this new policy allowing flavored products reverse that public health success?

Can new age-gating technology on flavored vapes protect teens without hindering adult smokers trying to quit?