The Influence Foundation

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Background

The Influence Foundation was founded in New York in 2017. Its stated aim is “to advocate through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy and human rights”.1 It is part-funded by tobacco companies and related third parties.

The Influence Foundation owns and operates Filter magazine, which has published multiple articles criticising tobacco control policies23, and arguing against regulations relating to newer nicotine and tobacco products.45

Links to the Tobacco Industry

Direct funding from tobacco companies

The Influence Foundation receives funding from tobacco companies including Philip Morris International (PMI), Altria, and British American Tobacco (BAT) subsidiary Reynolds American Inc, as well as from the e-cigarette company JUUL Labs, which was part-owned by Altria between 2018 and 2023.6

Supported by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World / Global Action to End Smoking

It is also a grantee of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), an organisation wholly funded by PMI under a multi-year pledge (2018-23). In May 2024 FSFW rebranded as Global Action to End Smoking (GAES), which continues to operate on the remaining PMI funds.789

In 2020, FSFW awarded a grant of US$90,000 to Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), the Influence Foundation’s past fiscal sponsor, to “Build capacity to share stories that present facts about tobacco harm reduction and nicotine use to all stakeholders” through Filter magazine.10 LEAP also accepts funding from tobacco companies.1112

In 2021, the Influence Foundation received a grant of US$167,709 from FSFW to “Expand Filter’s capacity to produce, publish, and promote informative and evidence-based THR [tobacco harm reduction] information and articles with higher volume, quality, and reach.”1314 In 2022, it received US$71,877 for the same Filter capacity expansion project, and another grant of US$237,640 to “Support the capacity of Filter Magazine to communicate about tobacco harm reduction)”.1516

In 2023, FSFW/GAES paid the Influence Foundation US$169,744 to support Filter Magazine’s capacity.9 In July and August that year, Filter magazine published articles ahead of the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Written by the pro-tobacco blogger and International Fellow at the Taxpayers’ Protection Alliance (TPA), Martin Cullip, they criticised the WHO and its supposed “assault on tobacco harm reduction”.1718 Around the COP 10 meeting in early 2024, Filter published further articles by Lindsey Stroud of the TPA.192021 The TPA provided funding to the Influence Foundation “to support travel to Good COP”, a parallel meeting run by the TPA during COP 10.22 For more information see Interference around COP 10 & MOP 3.

After FSFW rebranded to GAES in 2024, funding to the Influence Foundation continued, with US$127,308 awarded to “Support communication about tobacco harm reduction through Filter Magazine.”23 In the lead‑up to and during COP11, Filter published articles that criticised the WHO and framed its approach to tobacco harm reduction as hostile.2425 For more information see Interference around COP 11 & MOP 4.

The Influence Foundation has also received funding from industry third parties, including Knowledge-Action-Change (funded by FSFW/GAES) and R-Street Institute (part-funded by Altria).6

Board Members

Board members include:

  • Will Godfrey, President and Executive Director of the Influence Foundation, and editor-in-chief of Filter.1 He is a regular attendee and speaker at the Global Forum on Nicotine,26 an annual conference organised by Knowledge-Action-Change, which each year features tobacco industry speakers and panellists.
  • Diane Goldstein, the executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), which has received funding from tobacco companies. Goldstein has presented at the UK Houses of Parliament and to Californian legislatures.1112
  • Sheila Vakharia, the policy manager for the Office of Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance.27

Tobacco Tactics Resources

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References

  1. ↑abThe Influence Foundation, About the Influence Foundation, Filter, undated, accessed October 2022
  2. ↑J. Iakovos, Tobacco bans in our prisons are rich pickings for me—and the COs, Filter, May 2022, archived October 2022, accessed November 2022
  3. ↑T. Castillo, Banning menthol cigarettes criminalizes black communities, say advocates, Filter, September 2019, archived August 2022, accessed November 2022
  4. ↑A. Norcia, Federal bill aims to tax vapes as much as cigarettes, Filter, April 2021, archived January 2022, accessed November 2022
  5. ↑G. Stimson, The right to health means the right to tobacco harm reduction, Filter, June 2022, accessed November 2022
  6. ↑abOur supporters, About the Influence Foundation, Filter, undated, accessed October 2022
  7. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Final grant agreement and termination of second amended and restated pledge agreement, website, 29 September 2023, accessed October 2023
  8. ↑Global Action to End Smoking, Form 990-PF, 2024 Tax Return, 18 May 2025, accessed May 2025
  9. ↑abGlobal Action to End Smoking, Form 990-PF, 2023 Tax Return, 17 May 2024, accessed June 2024
  10. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Form 990-PF, 2020 Tax Return, 17 May 2021, accessed May 2021
  11. ↑abB. Stockton, E. Baumgaertner, R. Lindsay, Paid protesters, free lunches and backroom chats: Inside the menthol lobbying machine, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 25 April 2022, accessed September 2022
  12. ↑abAltria, 2021 Recipients of Charitable Contributions from the Altria Family of Companies, accessed March 2022
  13. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Form 990-PF, 2020 Tax Return, 17 May 2021, accessed May 2021
  14. ↑Awarded grants, The Influence Foundation, Inc.(Filter Magazine) (USA), 2020, Foundation for a Smoke Free World website, undated, archived April 2022, accessed November 2022
  15. ↑Awarded grants, The Influence Foundation, Inc.(Filter Magazine) (USA), 2022, Foundation for a Smoke Free World website, undated, accessed November 2022
  16. ↑Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Form 990-PF, 2022 Tax Return, 15 May 2023, accessed May 2023
  17. ↑M. Cullip, Time Short to Stop the WHO’s Assault on Tobacco Harm Reduction, Filter, 12 July 2023, accessed August 2023
  18. ↑M. Cullip, The WHO’s COP10 Takedown of Tobacco Harm Reduction Takes Shape, Filter, 3 August 2023, accessed August 2023
  19. ↑L. Stroud, WHO Renews Tobacco Harm Reduction Attacks in Runup to COP10, Filter, 11 January 2024, accessed February 2024
  20. ↑L. Stroud, WHO Renews Tobacco Harm Reduction Attacks in Runup to COP10, Filter, 11 February 2024, accessed February 2024
  21. ↑L. Stroud, The WHO Prioritizes Youth Who Don’t Smoke Over Adults Who Do, Filter, 23 February 2024, accessed February 2024
  22. ↑K. Sidhu, At Hostile COP10, Threats to Tobacco Harm Reduction Postponed, Filter, 20 February 2024, accessed April 2024
  23. ↑Global Action to End Smoking, Form 990-PF, 2024 Tax Return, 18 May 2025, accessed May 2025
  24. ↑K. Sidhu, “Ugly” COP11 Attacks THR, But Nations Avert Worst Damage, Filter, 26 November 2025, accessed March 2026
  25. ↑K. Sidhu, WHO’s COP11 Will Threaten Tobacco Harm Reduction Behind Closed Doors, Filter, 29 September 2025, accessed March 2026
  26. ↑Global Forum on Nicotine, 2022 Programme, website, undated, accessed July 2022
  27. ↑The Influence Foundation, About the Influence Foundation, Filter website, undated, accessed October 2022

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