REVOKE "LICENSE TO KILL"
April 23, 2003

ALTRIA SHAREHOLDERS MTG
April 24, 2003

TEEN ADVOCACY WORKSHOP
April 23, 2003

Each year, Philip Morris/Altria holds its annual meeting of shareholders in Richmond, VA, home to about half of the Philip Morris USA workforce. This year 200 teens were on hand to hold the company accountable for peddling death around the world and to send a strong message that a new name will never hide the company's global shame!

We arose bright and early, in order to be "in position" by the time shareholders started arriving (~7:30am). It is hard to miss the exit for the Philip Morris manufacturing plant. On the company grounds, not far from the highway, there stands a towering monument to the company's cigarette brands.

OUTSIDE RALLY

We parked at a nearby fast-food franchise and started walking down the long road that runs between the highway and Philip Morris. We whipped out our signs, warmed up our chanting voices, and inflated our large "Licensed to Kill" cigarette pack in front of the monument to Marlboro, Virginia Slim, and Parliament.

Inside the metal bar fence that surrounds Philip Morris were security guards on horses. Teens held their signs up high at the fence and shouted chants loudly. They then went back to the road, completely lining the path that shareholders have to drive to get into the meeting.

Passing truck drivers honked in solidarity. When the shareholders started showing up, however, they weren't nearly as happy to see the teens. A number of shareholders expressed their views with "friendly" hand gestures.

The media showed up in droves. Three (ABC, NBC, CBS) television crews, two newspapers, an AP photographer and reporter, and two radio stations. They were eager to interview the teens and get video footage of their demonstration.

Selected photos

FACT (Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco) teens from Wisconsin turned themselves into a long human billboard

Hey Big Tobacco…I won't believe your lies!

A shareholder in a fancy car passes through the teen-lined entrance to Philip Morris

People over profits!

Big Tobacco is Addicted to Profit

Revoke the License to Kill

View more photos!

GOING INTO THE "BELLY OF THE BEAST"

We were able to bring 12 people (10 teens, 2 adults) into the shareholders meeting. We headed to the front entrance on foot and were promptly stopped by security guards, who checked our IDs and paperwork before allowing us to proceed further. We were then led to a processing tent, where company employees photocopied our IDs and paperwork. After going through a metal detector and having our bags searched to make sure that we weren't carrying in multiple copies of literature to clandestinely hand out, we were allowed to pass and go into the meeting.

We then entered the tent that is set up for the pre-meeting "coffee hour." Many of the visual displays and literature were new to reflect the change in the company's name. Even the company's annual report had a new, square shape to match the multi-colored squares of the company's new logo. One pamphlet entitled "What is Altria?" featured images used in the company's massive PR campaign: a towering tree, Greek columns, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Another flyer, featuring the Statue of Liberty, advertised Altria's ironically-named "New Town Hall" initiative to eliminate the "double taxation of dividend income (www.newtownhall.com). There were also two booths with examples of the company's domestic and international so-called "youth smoking prevention" programs.

ALTRIA BOASTS THAT THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR ITS KILLER BRANDS
Despite the company's new name and bright colors, the tone of this years shareholders meeting was decidedly more somber than last year's - due in part to the multiple lawsuits that the company is currently facing and declines in domestic market volume. The annual report notes that overall domestic industry shipment volume in 2002 declined by 3.7% to 391.4 billion unites, while PM USA's shipment volume declined 7.5% to 191.6 billion units. But not to worry, the company's sales were up dramatically overseas. Here are some statistics that the annual report proudly offers regarding its international tobacco business:

• Philip Morris International Inc (PMI) continued to general growth in volume, market share and operating companies income in 2002. Shipment volume increased 3.5% to 723.1 billion units, led by gains in Russia, Turkey and Japan.
  
  
• L&M, the third-best-selling international cigarette brand, available in more than 70 markets, had an outstanding year in 2002. Supported by international advertising and related promotions, L&M volume increased 42%. This performance was driven by the Lights and Super Lights varieties in Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, and gains in Argentina, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
  
  
• In Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, volume increased 2.4%
  
  
• In Eastern Europe, PMI advanced 12.5%, due to continue robust growth in Russia, where L&M, Parliament, Chesterfield, Virginia Slims and Optima were all up significantly.
  
  
• In Asia, volume increased 3.3%. Gains were achieved in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
  
  
• In Latin America, volume rose 2.4%. Argentina, Brazil and Mexico were the key contributors to the volume gain. In Argentina, PMI's share advanced 0.9 points to a record 65.2%, driven by the Philip Morris brand.
  
  
• PMI is positioned for continued expansion with Marlboro and a strong portfolio of other international brands that have leading and growing positions in the key growth segments of American-blend and low-tar cigarettes, as well as its significant global scale and infrastructure.

In other words, PMI is positioned for continued expansion of the global epidemic of tobacco-related death and disease, also known as "SARS" (Shameless Addiction to Riches from Smoking)

NH TEEN INTRODUCES ALTRIA CEO TO "LICENSED TO KILL, INC"
Following the CEO's report, there was a Question & Answer period. 20 minutes were reserved for each of the three rooms. Each person was limited to 2 minutes. Every year, the company "plants" people to ask questions that the CEO then uses to highlight "positive" aspects of the company. Nevertheless, over 50% of the people who posed questions this year were tobacco control advocates. After lining up prematurely for the Q & A and being sent back to our chairs twice, we raced to get in line for a third time, only to be beaten by a bunch of pro-tobacco folks. One by one they stepped in front of the camera, asked their question, and waited for the CEO's response. Finally, it was the turn of Vicki Hebert’s (aka “Virginia Slime”), a teen
involved with Dover Youth to Youth (NH). She took the opportunity to introduce CEO Louis Camilleri to "Licensed to Kill, Inc, the new tobacco company incorporated in Virginia that plans to manufacturer and market tobacco in a way that kills over 4.9 million people annually." Vicki said that what makes Licensed to Kill different from other companies is that it doesn't hide what its business is about. Her question to Camilleri (paraphrased): Is Altria planning on becoming more like Licensed to Kill, in terms of telling the truth about its deadly products? Not surprisingly, Camilleri completely "rejected" the question!

CAMILLERI EVADES QUESTION ABOUT MARLBORO BABY CLOTHS
Later in the meeting program, six shareholder proposals were presented. This gave us another opportunity to confront the CEO about the company's business practices around the world. Proposal #3, on youth smoking, read:

WHEREAS, Philip Morris has undertaken efforts in the United States to discourage smoking by minors; and
WHEREAS, it has been reported that Philip Morris has engaged in efforts overseas to encourage smoking among young people (New York Times 8/24/01); and
WHEREAS, it has also been reported that these efforts have included the distribution of free cigarettes to minors; and
WHEREAS, in 1998 Philip Morris CEO Geoffrey Bible, states that the Company would eliminate discrepancies between marketing in the US and abroad (NYT 8/24/01);
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that shareholders request the Board of Directors to review worldwide corporate adherence to Philip Morris policies aimed at discouraging smoking among young people, and report the results of that review to shareholders by November 2003.

Jessica Harvey, a teen leader of NY Reality Check program's International Action Committee, was the first to speak in favor of the proposal. As soon as the camera turned on her, Jessica brandished red Marlboro baby clothing from Togo for the CEO and all to see. The same Marlboro baby clothing has been in West Africa since at least 1998, and the company does not appear to have done anything about it. Children less than 1 year old have been seen wearing the clothing. Anticipating that the CEO would deny responsibility and call the clothing a "rip-off", Jessica said that whether or not Philip Morris distributed the clothing is beside the point -- a company as rich and as powerful as Altria should be able to clamp down on such an outrageous promotional gimmick. CEO Camilleri completely "rejected" what Jessica had to say and didn't even attempt to comment. Terra Gearhart, a teen involved with NM Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco, then commented on the company's bogus youth smoking prevention programs to which the CEO responded disingenuously by saying that the company "shares the same goal in wanting to lower teenage smoking."
See photos of Marlboro baby clothing from Togo:photo 1 , photo 2
And Senegal (1998): photo 1, photo 2, photo 3

CAMILLERI CONFRONTED OVER CIGARETTE SMUGGLING IN IRAQ
Shareholder Proposal #5 outlined the civil lawsuit that 22 Colombian States and the City of Bogota filed against Philip Morris in 2000 alleging that the company has...

"actively engaged in smuggling activities, and concealed such conduct, through illegal acts, including money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, and other violations of United States law" and has "controlled, directed, encouraged, supported and facilitated the activities of smugglers…collaborated with smugglers, encouraged smugglers, and directly and indirectly, sold cigarettes to persons and entities whom the Company knew to be smugglers;"

and requested that the Board..

"establish a committee of independent directors to determine the extent of our Company's past or present involvement directly or indirectly in any smuggling of its cigarettes throughout the world. We recommend this Committee make appropriate recommendations to ensure that our Company is not involved in any way in selling cigarettes in ways that might assist smuggling and that it not sell cigarettes to any distributor or any other person who cannot fully and accurately account for the source of the funds with which the cigarettes were purchased…"

Anna White, Coordinator of Essential Action's Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control spoke in favor of the proposal, noting that it has recently come to light that during the 1990s Philip Morris cigarettes were smuggled into Iraq and that Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, was known to control the cigarette market in the country. "Your company's strong opposition to this proposal suggests that it so addicted to profits from weapons of mass destruction made from tobacco that it is willing to support a regime that [the U.S. alleges is developing weapons of mass destruction]." Once again, CEO Camilleri completely "rejected" the comment.

Read more about this issue:
US tobacco companies face claims of smuggling to Iraq
By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem and David Wastell, Diplomatic Correspondent
The Telegraph, 13/10/2002

ALTRIA FINALLY KICKS TEENS OUT
On our way out of the meeting, Anna White donned a "Revoke the License to Kill" t-shirt, which attracted significant notice from shareholders and Altria employees alike. But it was when teens started placing hard-hitting postcards (courtesy Michael Cummings, Roswell Park Cancer Institute) on all the food tables that Altria finally lost its cool and kicked us out. The postcards read:

Attention Marlboro Smokers
* Marlboro cigarettes cause cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases.
* Marlboro cigarettes are addiction.
* There is no such thing as a safe Marlboro

In 1997, Philip Morris CEO Geoffrey Bible testified that he would shut his manufacturing plans down instantly if scientists proved that cigarettes were a cause of lung cancer.

CLASS A BROKEN PROMISES

If Marlboros really do cause the disease that YOU say they do…
Please keep you promise and stop making them.

The postcard features a Marlboro pack and a green-faced Marlboro man. View the postcard

MEDIA COVERAGE
At noon, we were the top news story on all the local television. Later, on their way home to NY, Reality Check teens called their local television stations and had them obtain and air the television footage from their affiliate stations in Richmond. Here's some of the media coverage we got:
AP photo of Licensed to Kill pack
AP photo of Mary Knoll and Brianna Stuessey (teens from Beloit, WI)
AP article that mentions outside protest - April 24, 2003
Richmond Times-Dispatch - April 25, 2003 and accompanying photo *
Beloit Daily News (WI)
Local television news coverage

* A wonderful diversity of teens came to Richmond. They did a great job of highlighting the many subpopulations that the tobacco industry targets, including the LGBT community. This photo features Reality Check teens from NYC holding "Queer Teens United Against Big Tobacco" signs. Learn more about how the tobacco industry has targeted this subpopulation, i.e. R.J.Reynolds "Project SCUM"

MISCELLANEOUS
Talking Points
Chants
Signs
Messages for Louis
Short video by Strive Media Institute
Request copies of video footage

OTHER LINKS
Shareholders meeting
Remarks by Chairman and CEO Louis Camilleri
Full Altria Group Inc 2002 Annual Report
Business Review
View how shareholders voted on the proposals (all of which Altria opposed)
Altria Product List - to Boycott!

THANKS!
Thanks to the following groups for participating:

• Dover Youth to Youth (NH)
• Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco (NM & WI*)
• Reality Check (NY)
• RAZE (WV)
  * Rock County Tobacco Free Kids, Strive Media Institute

Thanks also to Infact and several Altria stock-owning allies for providing us with proxies to attend the meeting; to Ghislain Aledji of ATLAT (Togo) and Carol McGruder of San Francisco African American Tobacco Free Project (USA) for supplying us with the Marlboro baby clothes; and to all our international colleagues who supplied us with examples, ideas, and suggestions!

WANNA JOIN THE FUN?
Would your group like to be involved next year? Join us in Richmond in 2004! Email Essential Action for more information