R Street Institute
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R Street Institute, Tobacco Tactics, updated 09 October 2024, accessed 19 December 2025.
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.”12
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.3 (See Think Tanks for more on ALEC and SPN).
Formerly named ‘D.C. Progress’ it was first registered as a nonprofit with the US tax authorities in 2009.4
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.5 Altria has made unspecified donations to the organisation since 2014.67891011
R Street Institute states that it works “extensively on both state and national policy” in the US and that donations help it to pursue its “mission and work across the country”.2 However it 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).
Activities
“Integrated Harm Reduction”
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”.12 As of April 2022, six out of the seven regulatory comments on harm reduction published on its website related to tobacco.13141516
The majority of regulatory comments on harm reduction published on its website relate to tobacco.17
Many of its publications and lobbying letters echo tobacco industry arguments, including the need to regulate newer products differently from other tobacco products, and criticising bans on product flavourings.12 Some articles have also been published on the Heartland Institute website.18
In 2022 R Street launched a “Safer From Harm Coalition” and website.1619 It stated that the aim was to “begin unifying previously siloed areas of harm reduction public policy under one banner.”16
R Street’s tax returns show that it sponsored the conference of the National Harm Reduction Coalition in Puerto Rico in 2022.20 It also paid the Influence Foundation US$14, 000 to produce 8 articles on harm reduction in Filter magazine.20
Lobbying in the US
- Letter to the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s Meeting in 2024, in support of the Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application for General Snus, a Philip Morris International (PMI)/Swedish Match product.21
- Report published in 2024, urging the FDA to “move quickly to approve a wide variety of products so that those who smoke combustible cigarettes have a multitude of options available to help them switch”.22
- Letter to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, commenting on the Center for Tobacco Products’ strategic plan23 Also hosted an “expert panel on Capitol Hill to discuss the new era of nicotine and tobacco control”.16
- In 2022, R Street reported that its “targeted approaches to public policy education and outreach helped beat back anti-tobacco harm reduction bills in Hawai’i, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Vermont that would not have been beneficial to harm reduction policies.”15
- Letter to House Energy & Commerce Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, February 2020, regarding the potential positive impact of e-cigarettes on public health.24
- 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.25
- 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.”26
- Letter to the FDA, August 2017, supporting PMI’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product application for its heated tobacco product (HTP) IQOS.27
- Lobbying letters have also been sent to US district and city councils.2829
Lobbying in LMICs
R Street Institute has published press releases, articles and consultation submissions,3031 in relation to tobacco control measures in LMICs:
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.”32 The letter also criticised the use of health warnings, standardized packaging and other evidence-based tobacco control measures in place in Vietnam.32
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.3334
In 2023 R Street published a report on its website titled the “Impact of Cultural Pressures on Tobacco Harm Reduction in South East Asia”.35
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).36
Attended Concordia Summit
R Street Institute has attended the Concordia Summit, which up to September 2023 was supported by Philip Morris International.3738
Current and former policy and research staff
- Jeffrey Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Integrated Harm Reduction. Previously employed in science and regulatory affairs at Reynolds American Inc (owned by BAT since 2017).39
- Pritika C. Kumar, former Resident Senior Fellow for Integrated Harm Reduction Policy. Previously a regulatory scientist at Altria.40
- 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.41
- Joel Nitzkin, former Senior Fellow, consultant on 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”.42
A full list of current staff can be found on the R Street Institute website.
Relevant Links
Tobacco Tactics Resources