THEME: ALTRIA, GIVE THE WORLD A BREAK!

Altria Group, the parent company of Kraft, Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International, the world's largest multinational tobacco company, has announced that it is considering breaking up into three separate companies in the near future. Measured by units, 80 percent of Philip Morris' sales are outside of the United States. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco kills 5 million people annually worldwide; by 2025, it will kill an estimated 10 million annually, 70 percent in developing countries. Decisions that an independent PMI makes will have major global public health ramifications.		Design by Kristi & Ken Dahlgren
Over 100 organizations in more than 50 countries around the world calling on PMI to make commitments - in advance of a breakup - to ensure that the separation of Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA does not worsen the tobacco epidemic.

In solidarity with groups around the world, youth and adults advocates from Arkansas, California, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin and New Zealand took the message to Altria's headquarters in NYC on April 26, 2006 and Altria's shareholder meeting in East Hanover, N.J. on April 27, 2006. Specifically, they called on Altria/Philip Morris to "Give the World a Break" from:

• Tobacco advertising & misleading descriptors like "light" & "mild"
• Lobbying on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control & against 100 percent smokefree places
• Invoking trade agreements to challenge tobacco control legislation
• Secrecy about advertising expenditures, political contributions, & lobbying costs
• Bogus "youth smoking prevention" programs
• Smoking & tobacco produce placement in movies and other media

For more information on the demands and the list of organizations that have signed on to them, go to: http://www.givetheworldabreak.org

View larger version of design by Kristi and Ken Dahlgren of Reality Check (New York)