Building alliances in unlikely places: Progressive allies and the tobacco institute's coalition strategy on cigarette excise taxes

The tobacco industry often utilizes third parties toadvance itspolicy agenda.One such utilization occurredwhen the industry identified organized labor and progressive groups as potential allies whose advocacy could undermine public support for excise tax increases. To attract such collaboration, the industry framed the issue as one of tax fairness, creating a labor management committee to provide distance from tobacco companies and furthering progressive allies' interests through financial and logistical support. Internal industry documents indicate that this strategic use of ideas, institutions, and interests facilitated the recruitment of leading progressive organizations as allies. By placing excise taxes within a strategic policy nexus that promotes mutual public interest goals, public health advocatesmay use a similar strategy in forging theirown excise tax coalitions.