PMI Ramps Up Lobbying Spend as FDA Scrutiny Intensifies

PMI US Corporate Services Inc. filed an amended lobbying disclosure for the First Quarter of 2026, reporting $2.38 million in in-house lobbying activity. The figure marks a notable jump from prior quarters and comes as congressional and regulatory pressure on the tobacco and nicotine industry intensifies.

Why It Matters

PMI is navigating a crowded and contested regulatory environment. The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products remains a central pressure point for the company, which has staked significant commercial bets on smoke-free alternatives like IQOS heated tobacco products and ZYN nicotine pouches. Congressional attention to FDA oversight of these products, combined with appropriations debates affecting the agency's budget, creates real legislative stakes for the company. A favorable regulatory framework could accelerate market access for its product portfolio. An unfavorable one could constrain it.

By the Numbers: Lobbying Disclosure Spending Climbs

The First Quarter 2026 amendment lists $2.38 million in in-house lobbying activity, up from $1.84 million in the Fourth Quarter of 2025 and $1.87 million in the Third Quarter of 2025. That represents a roughly 29 percent increase quarter-over-quarter.

The in-house lobbying activity report is one of several filings PMI submitted for the First Quarter of 2026. External firms also filed disclosures on PMI's behalf for the same period, including:

Combined, PMI's total reported lobbying spend across all filers for the First Quarter of 2026 reaches approximately $2.86 million. Over the prior year, the company's congressional lobbying records show consistent and substantial investment across both in-house and outside counsel.

The in-house lobbying team listed in the amended lobbyist registration includes eight lobbyists: J.B. Simko, Mallika Vastare, Moyer McCoy, Kelly McCollum, Keagan Lenihan, Diego Zambrano, Kichelle Webster, and David Sours. Simko appears as a new addition to the team in the First Quarter 2026 filing, compared to prior quarters. Zambrano has prior congressional staff connections, having served as an aide to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). David Sours previously served as Chief of Staff to Rep. Jody B. Hice (R-GA) and as a professional staff member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a panel with direct jurisdiction over FDA and tobacco regulation.

The Agenda: What the Lobbying Activity Report Covers

The amended filing itself lists no specific issues lobbied. However, the original First Quarter 2026 report filed by PMI's in-house team just days earlier outlines a detailed agenda. Topics include:

  • H.R. 4121, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, specifically provisions related to FDA reform
  • Implementation of P.L. 111-31, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
  • Medicare and Medicaid costs associated with smoking-related diseases, and the potential public health and cost benefits of tobacco harm reduction programs
  • Tobacco harm reduction on military installations
  • The federal excise tax on ethanol and its application to tobacco product manufacturing
  • Potential tariffs on imported products
  • U.S. policy guidance to executive branch personnel regarding foreign government engagements
  • Veterans and health-related issues

External firms are lobbying on overlapping but distinct terrain. Akin Gump focuses on reduced-risk tobacco products and international regulatory issues, including non-tariff barriers in foreign markets. Ingram Group and Todd Strategy Group both report lobbying on the Tobacco Control Act and FY27 appropriations. Corcoran Partners continues to focus on tobacco harm reduction and FDA approval through the Center for Tobacco Products.

Broader Context: Congressional Pressure Builds

The lobbying compliance filing landed one day after a high-profile Senate Appropriations hearing on the FY 2027 budget. At that April 21, 2026 hearing, members pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on FDA approvals of e-cigarettes and flavored nicotine products. One senator cited the Tobacco Control Act's requirement that manufacturers demonstrate their products are "appropriate for the protection of public health" before market authorization. Kennedy acknowledged internal FDA controversy over flavor approvals, stating that some approved flavors appeared "directed at children."

Congressional attention to the tobacco harm reduction debate is also visible in member communications. Just four days before the lobbying amendment was signed, a co-chair of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus posted publicly about working with "industry leaders" to combat illicit tobacco imports and "keep legal harm reduction products on the shelves." A separate February 2025 communication announced a member's joining of the same caucus, citing the importance of "access to harm reduction products."

On the regulatory side, the FDA renewed Modified Risk Tobacco Product authorizations for five IQOS products on April 17, 2026, allowing PMI to market those products with claims about reduced exposure to harmful substances. PMI also launched IQOS commercially in the U.S. market in March 2025, following a pilot program in Austin, Texas, and received FDA marketing authorization for ZYN nicotine pouches in 2025.

Separately, legislation introduced in late 2024, the END Act, targets illicit tobacco imports from China, a measure that legal tobacco manufacturers have supported.

The Bottom Line

PMI is a well-established and active presence in federal lobbying, and its First Quarter 2026 spending reflects that. The company is managing a wide portfolio of regulatory and legislative issues simultaneously, from FDA reform and appropriations to trade policy and excise taxes. The increase in in-house spending this quarter, combined with a stable roster of outside firms, suggests a lobbying strategy that has remained largely consistent in structure while growing in scale.

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