An April 16 letter signed by five United States senators urged the FDA to regulate the sale and marketing of electronic cigarettes. Upon further examination, it appears that three of the five letter signatories accepted lobbyist cash from tobacco companies in 2012. Could there be a connection between cash coming in from big tobacco and the senators’ recent pressure to begin FDA regulations on electronic cigarettes?

While tobacco smoking is now banned in almost all public venues and politicians regularly work to discourage tobacco use among the American public, it would seem that our politicians would sing the praises of any cessation device or healthy alternative to tobacco cigarettes. It doesn’t quite make sense that the federal government seems to be going in the opposite direction, choosing to block, discourage, and even harass the electronic cigarette industry repeatedly.

With so much time and emphasis spent on banning and regulating tobacco, it would seem that electronic cigarettes would be the perfect flagship product that senators could rally around and endorse. Unfortunately, this has not been the case and instead, senators have routinely tried to push for FDA regulation. Further, politicians have worked to have electronic cigarettes banned on airplanes and even labeled as a drug delivery device.

Perhaps the push against electronic cigarettes could be tied to the strong lobbying presence of Big Tobacco. According to First Street Research Group, tobacco giant Philip Morris USA spent $17 million to lobby in Washington last year. Altria is the parent company to Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and they led the lobbyist spending with $11 million.

Despite such expensive lobbying efforts and massive financial contributions to political campaigns, the tobacco industry still faces an uphill battle throughout all levels of the government. In recent years, tobacco taxes have grown higher than ever before. Smoking has been banned on work sites and in public places throughout the nation.

However, the one area where Big Tobacco seems to be gaining ground is in the fight against electronic cigarettes. There has never before been a product that was more threatening to tobacco companies before the introduction of electronic cigarettes. The tobacco industry is declining as more and more smokers switch to electronic cigarettes to enjoy a tobacco-free alternative to smoking. If lobbyists have only been successful in one area, they are certainly working hard to influence politicians to fight against the electronic cigarette industry.

Five senators signed the April 16 letter, requesting FDA regulation of electronic cigarette marketing and sales. Of the five, only Senator Dick Derbin (D-IL) and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) seem to have no connection to tobacco lobbyist cash.

Unfortunately, the other three senators did not come out quite as clean upon further inspection. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) all can be connected to funding tied to tobacco lobbyists groups in 2012.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Senator Sherrod Brown is connected to funding from the Palmetto Group in 2012, which received a sizeable chunk of money from the Altria Group. Senator Sherrod Brown has a long history of fighting against tobacco use. Despite his raspy voice which contributed to rumors of his own use of tobacco, Senator Brown maintains that he has never smoked. He has noted in the past that his father, who was a doctor, was a smoker, giving him a personal connection with tobacco use.

In 2009, Senator Brown voted “yes” on SCHIP, a program created to fund children with health care through tobacco tax dollars. He also voted “yes” on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009. In 2010, Senator Brown publicly called on the FDA to recall dissolvable tobacco “candy” because of its appeal to children. In 2011, he went on to vote “yes” on regulating tobacco as a drug. Most recently in 2012, Senator Brown urged the FDA to create new graphic warning labels for cigarette packaging.

With so much effort going to fight tobacco in his political history, it is surprising that Senator Brown was linked to funding from the Palmetto Group. Could this be why he decided to push against electronic cigarettes in the April 16 letter calling for FDA regulation?

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Senator Frank Lautenberg is also connected to funding from the Palmetto Group in 2012. At age 89, Senator Lautenberg is the oldest member of the United States Senate and the only remaining senator who is a veteran of World War II. He recently announced his plans to step down after this term, but it seems that he will make the most of his remaining time in office.

Senator Lautenberg has been a pioneer behind most anti-smoking legislation. In fact, he wrote Public Law No. 101-164 to ban smoking on airplanes. He also wrote Public Law No. 103-122 that bans smoking in all federal buildings. Senator Lautenberg suggested that the U.S. Senate Complex close all “smoking rooms” and stop the sale of all tobacco products. This went into effect on May 1, 2008.

In 2011, Senator Lautenberg called on Bud Selig, Commissioner of the MLB, and urged the ban of tobacco use on the baseball field, in locker rooms, in the dugout, and at all MLB venues. In 2012, he continued his anti-smoking campaign by urging the FDA to create new graphic warning labels for cigarette packaging.

With so much of Senator Lautenberg’s career wrapped up in anti-smoking legislation, it is surprising that he has made such misguided and outdated statements about e-cigs in the April 16 letter. Further, why would this senator be connected to funding from the Palmetto Group?

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

The final senator that can be tied to tobacco lobbyist funding is Richard Blumenthal. Senator Blumenthal can be connected with funding from Arnold & Porter LLP & C2 Group LLC.

Before serving in the US Senate, Senator Blumenthal was the Attorney General of Connecticut. During his service as Attorney General, Senator Blumenthal was part of a 46-state lawsuit against the tobacco industry. During the lawsuit, he argued that tobacco companies should reimburse the state of Connecticut for the Medicaid expenses paid out that were related to smoking. The lawsuit concluded in 1998 with a $246 billion settlement. Connecticut received around $3.6 billion from the national settlement.

Senator Blumenthal also sued RJ Reynolds in late 2007, claiming that Camel ads in Rolling Stone magazine were in violation of the former settlement, which prohibits the use of cartoons in cigarette ads. The lawsuit was settled and the state of Connecticut received $150,000, while the advertising campaign in question was ended. In 2012, Senator Blumenthal was also involved in the push for the FDA to create new warning labels for cigarettes.

With so much time and effort spent on public lawsuits against tobacco companies, why would Senator Blumenthal readily accept funding from a group that is connected to tobacco lobbying?

We may never know for certain whether tobacco lobbyist cash influenced these three senators to push the FDA to regulate electronic cigarettes, but it is certainly enough to raise questions. If politicians are going to stand against tobacco, should they not also refuse funding from groups that are tied to tobacco lobbying? Further, is the push against electronic cigarettes really coming from the influence of tobacco lobbyists who are pouring cash into the pockets of our Washington politicians?