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At the Republican Governors Association meeting in November, tobacco lobbyists offered financial support to governors who protested the FDA’s pending regulation of nicotine. The FDA subsequently received several letters from GOP governors’ offices. Some obtained by Mother Jones use nearly identical phrasing. An official for the governor of North Dakota admits his governor’s letter was written by a tobacco industry lawyer. And the others? “There’s no connection between my letter and the tobacco industry,” claims Montana Lt. Gov. Dennis R. Rehberg. “I stand on the principle of individual responsibility.”
