NM Democrats, Including Many Progressives, Quietly Pocket Big Tobacco and Vaping Campaign Cash – Part One.

“… no donation will influence how I vote,” wrote a progressive legislator trying to explain why she took thousands of dollars from tobacco and vaping companies.

(Photo Credit: Screenshot from Article at Hawai‘i Public Health Institute)

Generally, as Aesop suggested, “You are known by the company you keep.”

In politics, some believe your priorities may be more accurately revealed by the money you take, than by the words you speak.

Most Americans know someone – a family member, friend, neighbor, a loved one – who had their life shortened due to tobacco products.

Americans also know tobacco companies lied to them and their government for decades, hiding their industry’s internal research proving their products damaged and shortened lives.

And then there is the history of tobacco companies luring children to their products.

The American Lung Association’s website, leads with this about “9 of the Strategies Big Tobacco Used to Target Kids with E-Cigarettes“:

“Cigarette companies have always recognized youth as their “replacement generation” and have employed a myriad of strategies and tactics to target, attract and addict them to tobacco products. Right from the start, e-cigarette companies took their tactics straight from Big Tobacco’s playbook.

“Data from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) show more than two million middle and high school students using e-cigarettes in 2023, the most common form of tobacco use among youth in the U.S.¹ The frequency of use by teens is especially alarming with nearly 40% of high school students who vape doing so regularly (20 or more of the past 30 days), and close to 30% are vaping daily.² This regular use underscores how addicted youth have become to e-cigarettes.”

Why would Democratic legislators in particular seek financial support from Big Tobacco?

Despite that universal and expert knowledge of the health hazards of tobacco use and vaping, over the past six years, 2019 through 2024, and contrary their public expressions of concern for the harm done to children using those products, many New Mexico legislators have quietly added over $641,000 from the tobacco and vaping industry to their campaign war chests.

Most political observers incorrectly assume that corporate money coming from the tobacco industries is provided to Republican and conservative Democratic legislators.

Since 2019, (including the latest report filed yesterday with the Secretary of State ), New Mexico Democrats have out-paced Republican fundraising from the tobacco and vaping lobby 57% to 43%, with Democrats taking in more than $360,000 compared to the $276,00 received by Republicans.

Here is a breakdown of campaign contributions by tobacco, e-cigarette and vaping companies and their lobbyists since 2019:

In the current election cycle for 2024 (which includes contributions which started to arrive in 2023 after that year’s legislative session), the same lobby has poured in more than $252,000 – with Democrats accepting almost 70% of that haul compared to the money gifted to Republicans.

New Mexico Progressive Democrats and the Tobacco Titans

“Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in New Mexico … and takes the lives of 2,630 New Mexico residents each year.”- American Lung Association in New Mexico

Earlier this year JoAnna Strother, Director of Advocacy at the American Lung Association in New Mexico stated, “The tobacco industry will do anything to protect their profits at the expense of New Mexico lives, so we must push forward in our efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use.”

Released in January, the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of Tobacco Control” report card for New Mexico gave the state “a failing grade for tobacco prevention and control program funding,” and associating $843,869,235 in healthcare costs due to smoking.

It concluded that “more work needs to be done to prevent tobacco use and save lives.”

Despite the warnings from the American Lung Association and other advocacy groups, and the perception that progressive politicians value policy-making for healthy outcomes, most of the money inhaled by the campaigns of Democrats was solicited for a group of legislative leaders and colleagues considered “progressives.”

According to New Mexico Secretary of State reports, the money comes from tobacco titans like RAI Services Company, Altria Client Services LLC, PMI Global Services Inc., and the American electronic cigarette company known as Juul Labs, Inc.

Here are some of the “Progressive Democrats” accepting Tobacco industry Campaign cash:

(This is the first of two articles. The second will focus on the tobacco and vaping industry lobby’s cozy relationship with legislators of both political parties in New Mexico, and the age-old political response that, “no donation will influence how I vote.”)

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

23.6% of cancer deaths in New Mexico are attributable to smoking.

25.4% of New Mexico High school students who use e-cigarettes.

3,500 New Mexican Kids (under 18) try cigarettes for the first time each year.

“E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth. No tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, are safe, especially for children, teens, and young adults. Learn more about e-cigarette use among youth.” – U. S. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention