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Tobacco Giant Philip Morris/Altria Changes Location of Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Face of Growing Public Pressure Move from Richmond, Virginia to East Hanover, New Jersey Indicates World's Largest Tobacco Corporation is Trying to Evade Scrutiny FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Boston --In a move that is bolstering campaigns to stop the corporation's deadly and dangerous practices, Philip Morris/Altria is changing the location of its annual shareholders' meeting. Scheduled to take place on April 29th, this year's meeting will be held in North Jersey instead of Richmond, Virginia. Over the past decade the annual meeting has been an increasingly visible forum for protest against the tobacco giant's deadly practices. The national corporate accountability organization Infact, which has been challenging Philip Morris/Altria since 1993 including at its past 10 annual shareholders' meetings, cites growing public rejection of the corporation's abuses as a contributor to the dramatic shift. "This move is a clear indication of a major shift in public climate across the US. In the past, Philip Morris/Altria could count on a warm reception in Richmond. However, hundreds of people have turned out at its shareholders' meetings to protest over the past 10 years, and the movement continues to grow. Last year the corporation changed its name, and this year, in the face of escalating pressure, the Marlboro Men are fleeing to a lower-profile location," says Infact Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. The Philip Morris/Altria annual meeting will take place at 9:00 a.m. on April 29th at a Kraft Foods facility-the Robert M. Schaeberle Technology Center, at 188 River Road in East Hanover, New Jersey. The tobacco giant acquired Kraft Foods in 1988 and has often tried to use its food subsidiary to improve the corporation's tarnished image. From 1994 until June 2003, Infact's Boycott of Kraft Foods became an increasing liability for Philip Morris/Altria. The Kraft Boycott was lifted in June 2003 in recognition of the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international treaty that will change the way the tobacco industry operates globally. Infact and its allies will once again attend the Philip Morris/Altria annual meeting to expose and challenge the corporation's abusive practices. ### Since 1977, Infact has been exposing life-threatening abuses by transnational corporations and organizing successful grassroots campaigns to hold corporations accountable to consumers and society at large. From the Nestlé Boycott of the 1970s and 80s over infant formula marketing, to the GE Boycott of the 1980s and 90s to curb nuclear weapons production and promotion, to the Boycott of Philip Morris/Altria's Kraft Foods, which contributed to the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)-Infact organizes to win!
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