Rally Raised Awareness of The Industry’s Powerful Tactics in Shaping Market Landscape, Impacting Public Health Outcomes

As Altria Group Inc. shareholders held their annual virtual meeting on May 14, approximately 30 youth advocates, including William Washburn, Grant Smolen, Maddy Meyers, and Ryan Benedict students at Fillmore Central School held a first amendment assembly in Washington, D.C. proclaiming the message: “Altria Pulls the Strings, Everyone Pays the Price!” Some students and adults logged into the Altria meeting through share ownership and submitted questions to the CEO about the power and corruption, demanding truth and corporate responsibility.

“I’m so proud of these young people for exposing the immense power through strategic manipulation of nicotine and aggressive marketing used by Altria and other tobacco companies to protect their profits,” said Jan Chaffee Reality Check Coordinator for Tobacco Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany. “Now that they have shared their voice in Washington, D.C., they plan to continue to address the challenges of tobacco use in their communities back home, as well as mobilize their peers to take action.”

This year marks the 11th consecutive year that Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies (MATL), a tobacco prevention group made up of several active youth groups from around the nation including Reality Check from New York, Dover Youth to Youth from New Hampshire and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Ambassadors from West Virginia and South Carolina. Their efforts are supported by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Truth Initiative and Corporate Accountability. Check out Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies on Facebook to view the first amendment rally outside Altria’s Lobbyist Office.

Big Tobacco has been lying about the deadly effects of cigarettes and manipulating the American people for decades, marketing to young people and minority populations, and lying to the public about the dangers of smoking.

For more than two decades, Altria’s tobacco companies claim to have made significant investments to reduce youth use of tobacco yet during those years Altria has targeted young people with candy- and fruit-flavored products, making them more appealing and accessible. 

Altria also exerts its corporate power and serves its own agenda of making profits by:

• Exerting control over the political process to get their products in the marketplace
• Staging strong lobbying efforts to shape tobacco control laws
• Despite falling cigarette volumes, Altria continues to exert pricing power to maintain high earnings, targeting growth of roughly 2.5% to 5.5% in 2026.
• Influencing market trends to boost sales through heavy price discounts, retail promotions and the introduction of flavored “reduced-risk” alternatives like nicotine pouches.

Now, Altria has adopted new product, NJOY, electronic cigarettes and vaping products, as the latest marketing frontier to pull consumers’ strings.

• NJOY has faced scrutiny over its marketing and product safety, including allegations about misleading consumers about the health risks and patent infringement issues that have significantly impacted U.S. market presence.
• While some products received FDA authorization, others have faced bans, and consumer complaints exist regarding product quality and addictive nicotine levels.

“Altria and other tobacco corporations have used the same playbook for decades: lie about their products, manipulate science and policy, and addict children to create lifelong customers,” says Daniel Dorado, Tobacco Campaign Director, Corporate Accountability. “The tobacco industry rakes in nearly one trillion dollars a year, while we pay the price.  But people around the world have had enough and are demanding that lawmakers Make Big Tobacco Pay for the harm it’s caused to our families and our planet.” 

The lies don’t end there. Tobacco companies falsely denied that they can and do manipulate the level of nicotine in their products to create and sustain addiction and have been since at least 1954.

– Tobacco companies falsely denied, distorted and minimized the link between cigarette smoking and disease. – Tobacco companies concealed evidence and publicly denied that nicotine is addictive.

– Tobacco companies falsely marketed and promoted low tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular cigarettes to keep people smoking and sustain revenue

– Tobacco companies internally acknowledged that secondhand smoke is hazardous to non-smokers yet still gave false and misleading public statements denying this fact.

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Reality Check New York empowers youth to become leaders in their community in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members produce change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education. Reality Check in this area is affiliated with Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany (TF-CCA). Tobacco-Free CCA is a program of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org.

The NYS Tobacco Control Program is made up of a network of statewide contractors who work on Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities, which includes Community Engagement and Reality Check, the Health Systems for a Tobacco-Free New York, the NYS Quitline and Surveillance and Research. Their efforts are leading the way toward a tobacco-free society. For more information, visit TobaccoFreeNYS.org and NYSmokeFree.com.