2005 Altria Shareholders Meeting

STATEMENT BY ANNA WHITE,
GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR TOBACCO CONTROL/ESSENTIAL ACTION (U.S.)

As you announced earlier, Marlboro is celebrating its 50th anniversary. 2005 is also the 50th anniversary of Philip Morris’s international expansion. So where has the company and Marlboro come in the 50 years? Philip Morris is the largest multinational tobacco company in the world and Marlboro is the #1 cigarette sold, by a wide margin. It is also the brand most popular with youth.

What are the consequences of 50 years of global expansion and aggressive marketing techniques? This year tobacco will kill 5 million people around the world. That’s a big number. To put it in perspective, it is 23 times the number of people killed in the recent tragic tsunami in South Asia. By 2025, that number will double to 10 million, 70% in developing countries. Marlboro will be responsible for a significant number of these deaths.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Marlboro is sending packs of playing cards to smokers (and former smokers) on their birthdays. [Showed and read example of promotion: “Here’s to a full year of action. Happy Birthday from your friends at Marlboro.” ].

Outside, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary more appropriately, with black balloons, a Happy 50th Deathday cake, and a 15 foot high Marlboro pack labeled “50 Years of Death.” As part of the macabre celebration, we have brought you a 50th Deathday card. It is blank inside to represent all your addicted customers who are not alive today to celebrate.

My question to you, Mr. Camilleri is: your company talks a lot about individual responsibility, but what about the responsibility of your company not to market a product that kills people if used as intended? When are you going to stop promoting death around the world?

CEO LOUIS CAMILLERI'S RESPONSE: "The task is to move forward. In the last 50 years, there's been lots of [change]. We are committed to harm reduction...the most responsible thing to do. Despite criticism and attacks...we continue unrelentlessly for harm reduction."