American Legacy Foundation Issues Super Bowl Challenge: ``Consider the Source'' -- Super Bowl XXXVIII Marks Second Appearance for truth --.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2004

truth(R) will make its second appearance in the Super Bowl with a new spot, "Shards O'Glass," that was created specifically for the game and asks the American public to "Imagine if all companies sold products like tobacco." "Shards O'Glass" is a fictitious company that manufactures a dangerous product that is analogous to cigarettes. The spot presents information intended to educate the American public and to empower them to make informed decisions.

"The Super Bowl's significant audience size presents an enormous opportunity for the American Legacy Foundation(R) to reach a vast sector of the U.S. population with an important message about smoking cessation," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation(R), the foundation that provides strategic direction and funding for truth(R). "The redirection of state tobacco settlement money into programs other than those focused on tobacco control, and the conclusion of the major payments from the Master Settlement Agreement to Legacy's national public education fund, has left a void with respect to information on smoking cessation. The tobacco industry manufactures a product that kills 440,000 people in this country each year and tobacco is the only consumer product that kills one-third of consumers when used as directed. The tobacco industry should not fill this information gap given their inherent conflict of interest."

The truth(R) spot will run in a 60-second format in the MTV pre-game show that airs on CBS and as in a 30-second format in the fourth quarter of the game.

"We believe the American public has a right to reliable information about quitting smoking from a credible source," said Dr. Healton. "There are 46.2 million smokers in the United States and 70 percent of smokers report that they want to quit. Yet many people underestimate the power of nicotine addiction and how difficult quitting can be. It is important for Americans to know where to turn when seeking information on quitting so they can prepare to quit, make a quit attempt with the right tools in hand, and join the 44 million Americans who have successfully quit smoking."

The Super Bowl spot was created by Arnold Worldwide of Boston and Crispin Porter & Bogusky of Miami. The spots were directed by Tim Godsall and produced by Biscuit Filmworks of Los Angeles.

In November 2003, the American Legacy Foundation(R) released the results of the 2002 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS 2002), which found that prevalence of current smoking among high school students declined about 18 percent, from 28.0 percent in 2000 to 22.9 percent in 2002. The truth(R) campaign contributed to this decline. The American Legacy Foundation(R), which provides strategic direction and funding for the truth(R) campaign, earlier this year received what is likely its final payment from the National Public Education Fund established by the Master Settlement Agreement. Despite its success, the truth(R) campaign now faces a funding challenge, and the smoking rates of America's youth may not stay at the lowest levels in 28 years without truth(R). truth(R) is needed to counter the $11.22 billion the tobacco industry spent in 2001 to promote and market their products in the U.S. alone.

truth(R) was launched in February 2000 and is the largest national smoking prevention campaign for youth. The campaign exposes the tactics of tobacco marketing and allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving teens the facts about the tobacco industry and its products. The campaign was developed by the American Legacy Foundation(R), which was created as a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry and 46 states. The American Legacy Foundation(R) is building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, DC, the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use through grants, technical assistance and training, youth activism, strategic partnerships, counter-marketing and grass roots marketing campaigns, public relations, and outreach to populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco. The foundation's national programs include Circle of Friends(TM), Great Start(SM), a Priority Populations Initiative, Streetheory(SM) and truth(R). Visit www.americanlegacy.org.