Tobacco giant Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, is sponsoring the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Academies of Nashville awards ceremony and dinner on Monday, April 24. The gala is intended to honor high school teachers, principals and public schools and recognizes partnerships between the businesses and schools in the academies.
In response to this news, Lynn Williams, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) government relations director for Tennessee, issued the following statement on behalf of ACS CAN, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“It is appalling that Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company and parent company of Philip Morris, is sponsoring a high school-focused event. To make matters worse, the event is being held at Rocketown which is the city’s largest entertainment venue for teens.
“Altria (through Philip Morris) sells the most popular cigarette brand among kids, Marlboro, and has fought effective measures to reduce youth smoking, such as higher tobacco taxes, across the country. Tobacco companies like Altria also spend an estimated $276 million – over $750,000 a day – to market cigarettes and smokeless tobacco annually in Tennessee, often in ways that appeal to children.
“Furthermore, a federal judge in 2006 ruled that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies have violated civil racketeering laws and defrauded the American people by lying for decades about the health risks of smoking and their marketing to children. The judge found that these tobacco companies have marketed to kids and young adults, concluding that the companies ‘have intentionally marketed to young people under the age of twenty-one to recruit “replacement smokers” to ensure the economic future of the tobacco industry.’
“Altria’s sponsorship of this event is an obvious example of how tobacco companies try to present themselves as responsible corporations when in fact they continue to aggressively market their deadly and addictive products in ways that attract a new generation of tobacco users.
“Nearly one-third of cancer deaths in our state are caused by smoking. If we want to see that change, we simply must keep kids from ever starting to smoke in the first place. This includes keeping tobacco companies like Altria as far away from our education system – and from our kids – as possible.”
About ACS CAN
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit fightcancer.org.
About Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights
Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights is a national, member-based, not-for-profit organization based in Berkeley, CA that is dedicated to helping nonsmokers breathe smokefree air since 1976.
About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the American Lung Association of the Midland States, a holder of a Four Star Charity Navigator Rating, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org.
About The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world. Tobacco-Free Kids advocates for proven strategies that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke. Learn more at tobaccofreekids.org.