title: Altria means tobacco: Philip Morris's identity crisis.
abstract: Philip Morris Companies, the world's largest and most profitable tobacco seller, has changed its corporate name to The Altria Group. The company has also embarked on a plan to improve its corporate image. Examination of internal company documents reveals that these changes have been planned for over a decade and that the company expects to reap specific and substantial rewards from them. Tobacco control advocates should be alert to the threat Philip Morris's plans pose to industry focused tobacco control campaigns. Company documents also suggest what the vulnerabilities of those plans are and how advocates might best exploit them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA. libbys@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Malone
mesh_terms: D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D008192:Deception; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D006801:Humans; D009275:Names; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011634:Public Health; D011641:Public Relations; D012941:Social Responsibility; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States