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Pressure on Philip Morris/Altria Reaches New Heights at Annual Shareholders' Meeting Pending Adoption of Global Tobacco Control Treaty, Implementation of Name Change, Cut in Bond Rating Demonstrate Growing Public Rejection of Tobacco Giant's Deadly Business Practices FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACTS: RICHMOND, VA -- With the adoption of an international treaty on tobacco control just weeks away, the roll out of its new name in progress and a dramatic cut in its bond rating this week, pressure on Philip Morris/Altria is reaching new heights according to activists challenging the corporation at its annual meeting. The corporate accountability organization Infact has involved millions of consumers in challenging Philip Morris/Altria to stop addicting new young customers with promotional campaigns like the Marlboro Man, and to stop interfering in public health policy around the world. This is the tenth consecutive year that Infact is directly challenging the world's largest tobacco corporation at its annual meeting. A study released in this month's issue of the American Journal of Public Health--"Altria Means Tobacco: Philip Morris's Identity Crisis"--provides extensive evidence that the name change is the height of a long-term effort to manipulate consumers and policymakers. According to internal corporate documents, the tobacco giant decided to take the major risk of changing its name in order to mask the negatives associated with the tobacco business. However, in an example of the financial community's deteriorating confidence in the tobacco giant, just two days ago Moodys Investor Services cut Philip Morris/Altria's bond rating to just above junk status. "Philip Morris/Altria's name change is the clearest signal to date that the corporation cannot continue business as usual in a public climate that adamantly rejects its practices. There has been a dramatic turn of the tide against the tobacco giant, most recently manifested in the cut in its bond rating. The tobacco treaty set to be adopted next month is a result of a growing international demand to rein in Big Tobacco," says Infact Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. In mid-May, the world's first public health treaty-the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)-will be adopted by the World Health Assembly in Geneva. This historic treaty will change the way tobacco giants like Philip Morris/Altria can operate globally. One of the FCTC's most groundbreaking provisions is a ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, allowing exceptions only for constitutional reasons. A driving force behind the FCTC has been a global public demand for regulation and accountability of the deadly transnational tobacco industry. A statement delivered at today's meeting on behalf of Dr. Thomas Novotny, former US Assistant Surgeon General and former Chair of the US FCTC delegation denounces tobacco industry efforts to derail the treaty at the last minute with the help of the Bush Administration. "A watered-down or delayed FCTC will mean millions more kids addicted to tobacco, tens of millions of deaths, billions in health care costs-and will ultimately backfire by creating massive liability for Philip Morris/Altria. Mr. Camilleri, how and why has your corporation influenced the Bush Administration to obstruct the FCTC?" asked Novotny. An editorial in last month's Tobacco International, an industry trade journal, expresses grave concern about the impact that the FCTC will have on the industry's international expansion. This adds to the pressure growing on Philip Morris/Altria at home. In cutting the tobacco giants bond rating, Moody's Investor Services cited legal threats and concerns regarding the corporation's profitability, especially in the US. The recent $10.1 billion verdict in an Illinois class action, followed by legal wrangling over whether Philip Morris USA would be required to post a $12 billion court-ordered bond, played a major role in the credit rating agency's decision. ### Since 1977, Infact has been exposing life-threatening abuses of 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 to the GE Boycott of the 1980s and '90s to today's Boycott of Philip Morris's Kraft Foods, Infact organizes to win!
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