Our Youth Tobacco Prevention (YTP) department, led by the Altria Client Services Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Stakeholder Relations, focuses its efforts in three areas, which are guided by ongoing research to understand the latest developments: parent communications, grant-making and youth access prevention. In 2006, the YTP department broadened its focus to include other tobacco products in addition to cigarettes.
The Tobacco Settlement Agreements*, which PM USA signed in 1997 and 1998, require tobacco companies to be committed to youth smoking prevention and to:
- communicate that commitment to employees and customers;
- employ an executive to identify ways to prevent youth cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use; and
- seek ideas from employees on how to prevent youth cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use.
The Settlement Agreements did not require that we create a YTP department or mandate any particular allocation of funds to help prevent youth smoking. The Settlement Agreements also do not mandate many of the programs PM USA has undertaken, such as parent communications, support for the
We Card program and grants to organizations with programs designed to help kids avoid risky behaviors. The aim of the Agreements however, is clearly to help reduce youth tobacco use in the U.S.
We are working to help reduce underage tobacco use because it’s the right thing to do, but for many people, that reason is not credible. Many question our commitment to helping reduce underage tobacco use because they believe success would hurt the sale of our products.
We understand the skepticism some may have regarding whether a tobacco company can be serious about reducing underage tobacco use. Our business, however, is based on competing for the largest share of the
adult tobacco market. For adult smokers who have decided to quit, we provide a free resource called QuitAssist® ─ an information resource that connects them to information from public health authorities about quitting smoking.
When kids use tobacco products, we feel pressure from many sources that may impact our business. These pressures come in the form of legislation which excessively restricts the sale and use or taxation of tobacco products and unfair criticism from many sectors of society. For example, excessive cigarette excise tax increases can impede our business goal of competing for the largest share of the
adult tobacco market.
We understand our efforts to reduce underage tobacco use may impact future sales. We accept this because if we do not play a role in keeping kids from using tobacco products, excessive and unfair legislation, regulation, and criticism could have an even greater impact on our ability to sell our products to adults who use them.
