American Legacy Foundation(r) truth Ads "Out" Tobacco Company Marketing Plan to Target the Gay Community

11/19/2002

From: Gina Ivey, 202-745-5100 for the American Legacy Foundation

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 -- The American Legacy Foundation(r) recently began running a new series of truth ads revealing that a leading tobacco company targeted San Francisco area gay and homeless communities for special marketing efforts in the mid-1990s. The plan, labeled "Project SCUM" for "Subculture Urban Marketing" by the tobacco company, was discovered in a tobacco industry document made public by tobacco companies as part of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.

"Our 'Project Scum' truth ad forces one of the leading tobacco manufacturers to come clean with regard to targeting gay consumers," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. "Project Scum" is yet another disturbing example of how the tobacco industry markets its addictive and lethal products," she added.

"Project SCUM is troubling not only because of a major tobacco company's offensive characterization of the gay community, but because the industry is targeting us. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community (LGBT) smoking rates are estimated to be double that of the general population," said Bob Gordon, Vice President of the CLASH, the Coalition of Lavender Americans on Smoking & Health.

"We need to learn more about tobacco use in the LGBT community so we can fight such targeting tactics in the future," said Gordon.

The Coalition of Lavender Americans on Smoking & Health, with national public health and advocacy groups, held a day-long summit on November 18 to address the need for more research on tobacco use in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community. The American Legacy Foundation presented the "Orange Curtain" ads and discussed its efforts to reduce tobacco use by this community.

The American Legacy Foundation is airing the "Project SCUM" truth ad as part of its new "Orange Curtain" series of truth advertisements. The ad features a teen pulling back an orange curtain and reading a copy of the actual tobacco industry document that describes "Project SCUM." The ad will air on BET, MTV, MTV2, WB, WB SYND, and WWE. In addition, the Foundation will be placing a series of print ads in many of the major GLBT publications. The American Legacy Foundation's truth campaign has helped produce dramatic declines in teen smoking by revealing the tobacco industry's marketing tactics as well as the health consequences of smoking.

"This outrageous behavior towards the GLBT community is particularly disturbing because of the disproportionately high rates of smoking among this population," said Healton.

Estimated smoking rates for GLBT youth range from 38 percent to 59 percent, far above the approximately 30 percent national average for all adolescents. To address this disparity, the American Legacy Foundation created its $21 million grants program to serve the GLBT community, as well as other underserved communities. Examples of the numerous grants it has already made to the GLBT community include:

-- Fenway Institute, LGBT Incubation Project, Massachusetts -- A grant to help bring together healthcare providers, tobacco control experts, and community members to develop successful intervention techniques for the LGBT population.

-- Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center, Tobacco Awareness Program, California -- A grant to help the center conduct a media-based counter marketing advertising campaign, supported by outreach volunteers, through small, targeted discussion groups and venue-based media.

-- Mautner Project, Washington, D.C. -- A grant to develop a national anti-smoking media and counter-marketing campaign aimed specifically at lesbian women over the age of 40.

"The American Legacy Foundation is the first national philanthropy to identify the GLBT community as a priority population for countering the tobacco industry's marketing efforts," said Healton. "We've devoted significant resources and attention to reducing tobacco-related disease and countering the tobacco industry's marketing efforts within this community, and we will continue to do so in the future."

------ The American Legacy Foundation is a national, independent, public health foundation located in Washington, D.C. It was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. The American Legacy Foundation collaborates with organizations interested in decreasing tobacco consumption among all ages and populations nationwide and has established goals to reduce youth tobacco use, decrease exposure to secondhand smoke, increase successful quit rates, and reduce disparities in access to prevention and cessation services and in exposure to secondhand smoke. For more information about the American Legacy Foundation, visit www.americanlegacy.org.