Ron Marshall knew that he was beat. The vape shop owner-turned-state lawmaker had been in plenty of political scrapes over nicotine products during his tenure at the Montana Legislature, but this time was different.

As chair of the House Human Services Committee in the 2025 session, he’d heard from both Big Nicotine and what the Republican from Hamilton categorically refers to as the “organ lobby” — the heart and lung associations — pushing hard against products that are harmful to users’ health.

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But Marshall wasn’t ready for the tidal wave of spending by tobacco companies advocating for House Bill 525, legislation that winnowed the list of vape products sold in Montana, in what was one of the more high-dollar lobbying efforts of that leg

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