Vape Company Gave Millions to Trump Before Key Decision
A tobacco giant donated $5 million to Trump's super PAC days before the FDA allowed flavored vapes.Summary
Reynolds American, a tobacco giant, donated $5 million to Donald Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., on April 30, just days before the FDA issued guidance allowing big tobacco firms to sell flavored vapes and seize a share of the $6 billion market. The donation, which brought the subsidiary's total to $8 million, came after a lunch where Reynolds executives and lobbyists met with Trump at his Florida golf club to complain about FDA restrictions. While the White House denies any link between the donation and the policy decision, the move represents a significant reversal from Trump's first term, when he raised the tobacco-buying age and banned most e-cigarette flavors to curb youth addiction. The Daily Beast also reported that Swisher International, another tobacco firm, had lobbied the White House in every quarter of the past year, partly through a firm employing the daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
(Source：The Daily Beast)
