By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Major donation: A Reynolds American subsidiary reportedly donated $5 million to a Trump-backed super PAC before the FDA’s new guidance on vapes.
• Industry meeting: Reynolds and Altria executives reportedly met with President Trump in Florida just before the policy announcement.
• Regulatory stakes: The FDA guidance could reshape the markets for flavored vapes and nicotine pouches while increasing pressure on illicit Chinese imports.

A subsidiary of Reynolds American donated $5 million to a super PAC backing President Donald Trump just days before the administration unveiled a major new nicotine policy that could benefit large companies in the nicotine industry, according to a New York Times report.

The contribution, disclosed in federal campaign finance filings Wednesday, was made on April 30 through a Reynolds subsidiary to MAGA Inc., bringing the subsidiary’s total donations to the group to $8 million.

Two days later, according to the report, senior Reynolds executives and lobbyists reportedly met with Trump for lunch at his golf club in Jupiter, Florida. Executives from Altria also allegedly attended the meeting.

According to the report, tobacco industry representatives expressed frustration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of vaping products and nicotine alternatives. R. J. Reynolds is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. and is wholly owned by Reynolds American, which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the global British American Tobacco (BAT) group. The company also owns the RJ Reynolds Vapor Company.

Although not stated in the report, on May 5, the FDA authorized four flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products from Glas, a company not affiliated with any major tobacco company, through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.

The authorization marked the agency’s first non-tobacco, non-menthol flavored e-cigarettes that include device-level age-restriction technology. As of this writing, no major tobacco company has received an FDA marketing order for any vaping flavor other than tobacco and menthol.

Less than a week after the Glas announcement, the FDA released new enforcement guidance that many in the nicotine industry viewed as potentially opening a clearer path to authorization of flavored vaping products and higher-nicotine oral nicotine products, including products marketed by small, independent manufacturers.

The policy also emphasized increased enforcement against illicitly imported vaping products, particularly unauthorized Chinese-made disposables that dominate large portions of the U.S. vape market.

“The only guiding factor behind the Trump administration’s health policymaking is gold standard science,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to the media outlet.

Desai added that the administration’s approach to vaping and nicotine pouches “is rooted in recent evidence showing they can help adults quit smoking.”

The timing of the donation and policy shift has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s evolving approach to nicotine regulation. The FDA guidance marked a significant departure from years of increasingly restrictive federal enforcement of flavored vaping products.

The guidance signaled a greater willingness to consider applications tied to adult smoking cessation benefits, while prioritizing enforcement against unauthorized products deemed appealing to youth. Four days after the policy announcement, then FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned from the regulatory agency.

It was reported that Makary believed he could not remain at the agency after the administration backed the new next-generation nicotine product policy direction. Makary also tangled with Trump over Makary’s management of the abortion pill mifepristone and the FDA’s ongoing clashes with the pharmaceutical industry regarding drug and vaccine rejections.

Neither Reynolds nor Altria publicly commented on the reported meeting. A spokesperson for MAGA Inc. defended the contribution, stating that the PAC “is pleased to accept legal contributions from those who agree with President Trump’s America First agenda.”

The broader regulatory shift could have major implications for the nicotine industry as cigarette sales continue to decline and manufacturers increasingly rely on smoke-free categories, including vaping, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products.

The flavored vape market alone is estimated at roughly $6 billion annually in the United States, though much of it remains dominated by unauthorized disposable products imported from China.

The Trump administration has already reversed or paused several Biden-era tobacco initiatives, including proposed bans on menthol cigarettes and plans to require ultra-low-nicotine cigarettes.

Nicotine industry stakeholders agree that the latest FDA guidance may be the clearest signal yet that the administration could adopt a more industry-friendly approach to regulated smoke-free nicotine products while focusing enforcement pressure on illicit competitors.