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ACME takes on Big Tobacco - Coming in JULY 2004!

San Francisco, CA "Declarations of Media Independence" Summit will feature internationally known public health researchers and advocates and unveil a grant to produce free, downloadable "World No Tobacco" media educational materials to improve the health of families.

Results from major peer-reviewed medical journals indicate that Hollywood studios owned by United States media monopolies are recruiting 390,000 kids a year for the tobacco companies with scenes of smoking in their kid-rated and R-rated movies. 100,000 of these children will die of tobacco-related
disease. Nonetheless, Big Media continues to arrogantly reject reform as a violation of freedom of artistic expression, silencing public discussion on the need for corporations to act responsibly and for audiences to think critically.

As an example, Disney (ABC), News Corp. (Fox), and Viacom (Paramount, CBS) recently rejected a TV spot from the American Legacy Foundation's "Truth" campaign www.americanlegacy.org). It tells the story of a girl who started smoking after seeing "Grease" and, when she was a mother of two, died of emphysema.

At the ACME Summit American Legacy Foundation's Martina Hones will discuss Big Media censorship and the challenges of airing anti-tobacco advertisements on the small screen.

Following her talk will be UCSF Professor Stan Glantz
(www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu) who recently gave testimony to the United States Senate (beside MPAA head Jack Valenti). Professor Glantz will deliver the keynote address, "Smoking in the Movies: How Hollywood is Hooking Kids for Big Tobacco," summarizing the academic research findings and providing
concrete action steps we can take to reclaim our children's media health.

As a 2004 recipient of a World NO Tobacco Day Grant (www.wntd.com ), ACME will unveil its Tobacco Media Literacy Monday (MLM) campaign to provide FREE, downloadable tobacco and health media education curricula at www.acmecoalition.org and launch the Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) Challenge for the
creation of the most effective, youth created anti-tobacco media.

For more information and to register for the "Declarations of Media Independence Summit!", go to www.acmecoalition.org/summitinfo.html.