Philip Morris pushed Congress on a tobacco harm reduction caucus

WASHINGTON — There’s a new caucus brewing on Capitol Hill focused on the potential health benefits of e-cigarettes and other smokeless products. But already, there’s a major liability hanging over its head: the involvement of one of the most notorious global tobacco companies, Philip Morris International.

The caucus could be a major win for proponents of e-cigarettes who have argued for years that these products should be utilized as public health tools to help adult smokers, rather than vilified like cigarettes. There are hundreds of similar informal caucuses on Capitol Hill, many of which lawmakers join to support or promote a niche cause or effort — though not all are bipartisan.