Tobacco politics

Tobacco politics refers to the politics surrounding the use and distribution of tobacco.

Taxation

Tobacco has been taxed by state governments in the United States for decades . The cumulative revenue of US tobacco taxation exceeded $32 billion in 2010, creating a major source of income for government.

The Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act of 1978, a law which makes cigarette smuggling a felony punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison, is used to prosecute smugglers who avoid paying the taxes on cigarettes. The proposed Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013 (H.R. 338; 113th Congress), if it passes during the 113th United States Congress, would update the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, which were previously not covered by the law.

Lobby

In 2010, the tobacco industry spent $16.6 million on lobbyists to represent the industry to Congress.

Major big tobacco lobbying companies include (in order of U.S. market share) Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Lorillard Tobacco Co. The tobacco lobby lost a chunk of its support when the U.S. National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) filed charges against the Tobacco Institute, a tobacco industry advocacy group.