Reynolds American

Reynolds American is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, American Snuff Co., LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. and Niconovum AB. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco produces Camel and Winston brand cigarettes.

In May 2013, the Center for Public Integrity reported that Reynolds American gave $175,000 to Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and $50,000 to the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity in 2012.

These are two of the most active and secretive political nonprofits operating in the U.S. today. Americans for Prosperity spent over $33 million in attack ads directly targeting President Obama in the 2012 campaign. Americans for Tax Reform reported nearly $16 million in expenditures in 2012.

Reynolds American only publicly disclosed these contributions due to an anonymous activist shareholder. Without such rare individuals, most corporations' bankrolling otherwise remains secret. “The shareholder specifically requested that we disclose information about 501(c)(4)s, and in the interests of greater transparency, we agreed,” Reynolds American spokeswoman Jane Seccombe said.

CPI also reports Reynolds American’s other contributions last year to 501(c)(4) groups include $100,000 to the Partnership for Ohio’s Future, an organization run by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce that spent several million dollars in a failed 2012 ballot initiative campaign to uphold a law limiting public workers’ collective bargaining rights. It also gave $12,500 to the National Taxpayers Union, a 501(c)(4) group that backed Republican candidates last year with modest expenditures.

Support for the American Legislative Exchange Council
Reynolds American is Private Enterprise Board member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, was a "President" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $100,000, and among other things, sponsor of the "Cigar Reception" and the "Leadership Dinner" speech of Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute at the 2011 ALEC Annual Conference.

A list of ALEC corporations can be found here.

Sourcewatch resources

 * R.J. Reynolds
 * Tobacco industry
 * Tobacco industry public relations strategies

External resources

 * Reynolds American website: http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/