Blue Star Strategies
This page was last edited on at
Blue Star Strategies is a public affairs consultancy headquartered in Washington, and with offices in Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris and Vienna.1
Relationship with the Tobacco Industry
Fontem Ventures, a wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary of multinational tobacco company Imperial Brands (previously Imperial Tobacco), has been a client of Blue Star Strategies since 4 November 2016 (see Image 1).23
Imperial Brands created Fontem Ventures to develop and market its newer nicotine and tobacco products, including e-cigarettes (also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS) and heated tobacco products.
- For more information, go to Imperial Brands.
Lobbied US Government
Fontem Ventures has been actively seeking to influence e-cigarette regulations worldwide. On its behalf, Blue Star Strategies has been lobbying members of the United States (US) House of Representatives to influence the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).456 The FDA was given the authority to regulate e-cigarettes in August 2016.
A testimonial on Blue Star Strategy’s website from Marc Michelsen, Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs at Fontem Ventures, states that Blue Star Strategies played a “fundamental” role in driving Fontem’s corporate affairs strategy in the US (see image 2).7