The only national women's coalition focused exclusively on tobacco issues says, ``No!'' The National Coalition FOR Women AGAINST Tobacco, a woman-centered, multi-ethnic, intergenerational group of national women's and girls' organizations including YWCA o

The Coalition is particularly outraged by tobacco giant Philip Morris' plans to launch a new $40 million campaign this December which will target women, with a focus on minority women. Philip Morris plans to use the tag line ``Find Your Own Voice'' and will place ads in women's magazines suggesting that women find their voices by smoking cigarettes. Philip Morris is also staging local concerts across the country in a campaign called ``Dueling Divas,'' a series of competitions that invites female artists to compete for tobacco prize money. Recording artist Leslie Nuchow, who refused a lucrative recording contract offered to her by Philip Morris, will be the keynote speaker at the press conference. ``Enough is enough! We will not remain silent while the tobacco industry defies the most basic moral and ethical rules to make phenomenal profits selling addiction and death to women and girls,'' says Coalition Chair, Alvina Bey Bennett. The use of tobacco products is the leading cause of premature, preventable death among American women. ``Each year, more than 140,000 women die of tobacco-related illnesses. Creation of the Coalition is an effort by AMWA to reduce and eventually eliminate this statistic,'' says AMWA Past President Susan Stewart, MD. Founded by the American Medical Women's Association, the National Coalition FOR Women AGAINST Tobacco is dedicated to: counteract the tobacco industry's targeted marketing to women and girls, educate women and girls about the health hazards associated with tobacco use and environmental tobacco smoke, and empower women, girls and their families to lead tobacco-free lives.

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