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Boycotters Barrage Kraft with Phone Calls to Halt Philip Morris' Influence-Peddling For Immediate Release: Contacts: Boston -- Hundreds of people from coast to coast will phone Kraft Foods today to say that they are joining INFACT's Kraft Boycott, using their consumer power to protest global abuses by Kraft's parent corporation Philip Morris. The callers will ask why Kraft is using its name and influence to assist Philip Morris in spreading tobacco addiction around the world. In response to a nationwide Call-in Day last September, Kraft representatives denied any operational contact with Philip Morris. The following month Philip Morris launched a new image advertising campaign, highlighting its ownership of Kraft-and emphasizing Kraft's role in the corporation's charitable giving. Internal corporate documents made public through the state of Minnesota's health care cost recovery lawsuit reveal Philip Morris' comprehensive strategy to prepare for its annual shareholder meeting, involving the corporation's senior management. When consumers call Kraft, they will be raising public concerns about Philip Morris' influence-peddling practices as the corporation prepares for its upcoming annual meeting. "Thanks to the corporation's own internal documents, we know that Philip Morris is practicing now for how they will deflect difficult questions at their shareholder meeting next month," said INFACT Organizing Director Sangita Nayak. Today, students at Tufts, Northwestern, Virginia Commonwealth, and other colleges and universities will be organizing hundreds of calls to Kraft. Student involvement in the Boycott is escalating as questions emerge about the impact of Philip Morris' influence on campus free speech and activism. According to recent news reports, an official at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill testified that she feared that Kraft would pull a promised $30,000 contribution to the school after a student protest on campus disrupted a Kraft recruitment session. "By confronting the corporation directly with their concerns today, students nationwide are turning the spotlight on Philip Morris and sending the message that growing numbers of people are rejecting their influence-peddling and tobacco promotion abuses," said Nicole Yoon, a freshman at Northwestern University. The consumer outcry is also a response to Philip Morris' announcement last week that it is willing to discuss limited government regulation of the tobacco industry. While the corporation received some praise for its statements, INFACT and other public health advocates exposed the announcement as more style than substance, citing Philip Morris' prolonged fight against independent oversight of the tobacco industry by the Food and Drug Administration. With FDA authority over tobacco now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, the corporation appears to be positioning itself to be viewed as reasonable, whatever the outcome of the case. "Philip Morris wants to have it both ways-they want to fight the FDA rules tooth and nail, and they want a seat at the table in making public policy on tobacco. Consumers are rejecting this attempt to manipulate the courts and Congress by calling Kraft today," says Nayak. A recent poll conducted for INFACT, which showed that 69% of U.S. adults agree that tobacco corporations should be regulated by the FDA, demonstrates a broad mandate for strong federal government action to control tobacco. ### Founded in 1977, INFACT's purpose is to stop life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations and increase their accountability to people around the world. INFACT is known for its successful Nestle and GE Boycott Campaigns.
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