Former Tobacco Executive Joins CDC Senior Leadership, Raising Industry Influence Concerns

Stephen Sayle, who served as U.S. vice president of corporate affairs at Fontem Ventures, an Imperial Brands subsidiary focused on e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, was appointed CDC deputy director for legislative affairs in March. Former CDC Office of Smoking and Health director Timothy McAfee called the appointment unprecedented, while critics note Sayle's history of potential conflicts of interest, including lobbying for energy companies before overseeing related congressional oversight. The appointment comes amid broader tobacco industry influence in the Trump administration, including the shuttering of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health in 2024, scuttled menthol cigarette ban plans, Trump's campaign vow to save vaping, and major donations from Altria and Reynolds American, whose $10 million went to Trump's super PAC. Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles previously lobbied for Swisher International, while Fontem U.S. is currently suing the FDA over blocked marketing authorization for its nicotine pouches.

Appointment of Former Tobacco Executive to CDC Leadership

• ▪Stephen Sayle brings more than 25 years of experience working at senior levels of the federal government
• ▪Stephen Sayle was U.S. vice president of corporate affairs at Fontem Ventures between 2017 and 2018
• ▪Stephen Sayle was appointed as the CDC's deputy director for legislative affairs in March
• ▪Stephen Sayle worked from 2013 to 2015 as the staff director for the energy subcommittee on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
• ▪Fontem Ventures is focused on non-combustible tobacco products like the e-cigarette brand blu and the oral nicotine pouch brand Zone
• ▪Stephen Sayle previously worked at Fontem Ventures, a subsidiary of the British multinational tobacco corporation Imperial Brands

Concerns About Industry Influence and Conflicts of Interest

• ▪Timothy McAfee headed the Office of Smoking and Health at the CDC from 2010 to 2017
• ▪Brenda Fitzgerald stepped down from her role as CDC head in 2018 after Politico reported she had purchased tobacco stocks
• ▪Stephen Sayle lobbied for Chevron and other energy companies before working as staff director for the energy subcommittee on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
• ▪Timothy McAfee wrote in an editorial published in the journal Tobacco Control that appointing a former tobacco executive to a high-level role at the CDC is unprecedented from a public health perspective

Tobacco Industry's Political Influence Under Trump Administration

• ▪Fontem U.S. filed a lawsuit against the FDA, Kennedy, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in spring 2025
• ▪Reynolds American donated $10 million to Trump's super PAC in the 2024 election
• ▪Altria Group donated to President Trump's White House ballroom makeover
• ▪The CDC's Office of Smoking and Health was shuttered in 2024
• ▪Susie Wiles is a former lobbyist for the tobacco company Swisher International

Perspective of Public health advocates

• ▪Public health advocates cite the shuttering of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health in 2024 as evidence of weakened tobacco control efforts

Perspective of Trump administration officials

• ▪The Trump administration emphasizes Stephen Sayle's more than 25 years of senior-level federal government experience as qualification for the CDC role
• ▪The Trump administration highlights that Stephen Sayle does not hold shares in Imperial Brands or have other tobacco company investments

Perspective of Imperial Brands and tobacco industry

• ▪Reynolds American's $10 million donation to Trump's super PAC in 2024 represents significant tobacco industry investment in political influence
• ▪Imperial Brands positions its subsidiary Fontem Ventures as focused on non-combustible alternatives like e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches rather than traditional cigarettes