 By June 1986, Reynolds had become an anti-smoking activist, appearing in adverts for the American Lung Association and testifying before a congressional subcommittee at the invitation of Packwood, to the dismay of his family.He had already sold his tobacco stock in 1979, and tried to get hired by RJR Nabisco Inc. from 1983–85, in an attempt to get the company to divest their tobacco holding.Reynolds was himself a smoker for 17 years until he quit in 1985 after over 10 years of trying.