R Street Institute

R Street Institute is a US think tank based in Washington D.C. It describes itself as a “nonpartisan, public policy research organization” with a “mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government.”¹

Background

R Street Institute was set up as a not-for-profit organisation in 2012 by former employees from the Heartland Institute and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),  and is a member of the State Policy Network.² (See Think Tanks for more on ALEC and SPN).

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

R Street Institute states that it is “funded by voluntary contributions from foundations, corporations and individuals” but does not disclose any details.³ However, Altria has made unspecified donations to the organisation between 2014 and 2020.⁴⁵⁶⁷ R Street Institute has also lobbied for the lower regulation and taxation of newer nicotine and tobacco products in the US and in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Current and former policy and research staff

• Chelsea Boyd, Research Fellow, Harm Reduction, focusing on “decreasing harmful health outcomes for people who engage in high-risk behavior, such as smoking and recreational drug use”.⁸
• Mazen Saleh, Policy Director, Integrated Harm Reduction.⁹
• Pritika C. Kumar, Resident Senior Fellow for Integrated Harm Reduction Policy. Previously a regulatory scientist at Altria.¹⁰– Caroline Kitchens, former Director, Government Affairs, with a focus on agriculture, harm reduction and energy policy.¹¹ Caroline joined R Street from the American Enterprise Institute (see Think Tanks page)
• Brad Rodu, former Associate Fellow, focusing on “substituting safer tobacco products for smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit smoking with conventional cessation methods”. His research at the University of Louisville has been supported by tobacco industry funding.¹²
• Joel Nitzkin, former Senior Fellow, Harm Reduction, worked on “shaping much of the R Street Institute tobacco control policy and speaking on behalf of such policy to state and local authorities, the American Medical Association and federal authorities”.¹³
• Dr Edward Anselm, former Senior Fellow from 2015 to 2018. He published several articles advocating for looser regulations and easier access to newer nicotine products.¹⁴¹⁵

A full list of current staff can be found on the R Street Institute website.

Activities

One of the featured issues on R Street Institute’s website is harm reduction. It states that it “aims for integrated harm reduction with tobacco, opioid and sexual behavior” and that it believes “an ‘abstinence only’ approach to risky behaviours will not work on a population-wide basis”.¹⁶ As of April 2022, six out of the seven regulatory comments on harm reduction published on its website related to tobacco.¹⁷

Many of its publications and lobbying letters also echo tobacco industry arguments, including the need to regulate newer products differently from other tobacco products, and criticising bans on product flavourings.¹⁶ Some articles are also published on the Heartland Institute website.¹⁸

Lobbying in the US

• Letter to the FDA, August 2017, supporting PMI’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product application for its HTP IQOS.¹⁹
• Letter to the FDA , June 2018, regarding the potential lowering of nicotine levels in conventional cigarettes. Citing potential risks of illicit tobacco, the letter urged the FDA to avoid “excessive regulatory barriers” and “provide a risk-proportionate route to market for low-risk, non-combustible alternatives, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco [HTPs] and smokeless tobacco products.”²⁰
• Letter to the FDA, September 2018, urging the Food and Drug Administration to grant British American Tobacco /Reynolds American a Modified-Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) status for its Camel snus, arguing that this would benefit public health.²¹
• Letter to House Energy & Commerce Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, February 2020, regarding the potential positive impact of e-cigarettes on public health. ²²
• Lobbying letters have also been sent to US district and city councils.²³²⁴²⁵

Lobbying in LMICs

R Street Institute has published press releases, articles and consultation submissions,²⁶ in relation to tobacco control measures in low and middle-income countries:

Vietnam

A letter was sent to the Vietnamese Prime Minister in June 2020, calling for looser regulation on next generation products saying that: “these products present a public health opportunity to improve the lives of people who use combustible products and cannot or do not want to stop.”²⁷ The letter also criticised the use of health warnings, standardized packaging and other evidence-based tobacco control measures in place in Vietnam.²⁷

Thailand

A press release was published in November 2020, promoting a policy paper titled “Exploring the Differences in Tobacco Policy between the United Kingdom and Thailand” which recommended the use of e-cigarettes to reduce smoking rates.²⁸²⁹

South Africa

Comments to a consultation on taxation of e-cigarettes were submitted in January 2022, arguing for lower taxes for “lower-risk products”. This also referred to PMI’s heated tobacco product IQOS and described HTPs inaccurately as “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS).³⁰

Attended Concordia Summit

R Street Institute has attended the Concordia Summit, which is supported by Philip Morris International.³¹³²

Relevant Link

R Street Institute website

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products
• Altria
• Heartland Institute
• Think Tanks