LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The tobacco industry claims that it no longer targets youth, but Target Market (TM) leaders aren't so sure following a historic meeting with the CEO of the nation's third largest tobacco company.

Five Minnesota teens drove all the way to the heart of tobacco country in a snowstorm to personally press Brown & Williamson CEO Nick C. Brookes about the tobacco giant's refusal to change their youth marketing ways. ``They wouldn't come to us, so we chased them down,'' said Matt Novak, a high school junior from Mounds View High School who was one of five Minnesota teens meeting with Brookes. ``We kept pressing them on details, because what they say is so different from what they do. We were respectful, but it's not easy when it's our generation that is targeted to replace older dying smokers.'' Target Market is a youth movement fighting back against the tobacco industry targeting them. Though founded just eight months ago, TM already has about 15,000 members from all corners of Minnesota. Since the group was founded in April 2000, they have been trying to obtain a meeting with tobacco industry CEOs. After a lengthy exchange of letters dating back to March 29, 2000, Brookes recently agreed to meet with the Target Market leaders at Brown & Williamson's headquarters in Louisville. In recent correspondence and during the meeting, the teens urged Brown & Williamson, the makers of Kool and Lucky Strike cigarettes, to adopt a number of reform issues, such as: 1) letting young people preview ads to make sure they aren't targeting teens; 2) funding youth tobacco prevention messages that are already proven to work, according to existing research; 3) halting advertising in magazines with teen readership over 10% or 1 million readers; 4) halting sales of tobacco where it is easy for teens to buy, such as the mail, cigarette machines and the Internet and 5) tying the compensation of senior executives to youth tobacco prevention goals. Brown & Williamson refused to adopt any of these youth marketing reforms. ``A company that truly was dedicated to cutting teen smoking wouldn't be advertising in magazines with a million teen readers,'' said Sarah Oldakowski, a high school junior from Pierz. ``We weren't satisfied with their answers, but they're going to be hearing a whole lot more from us. There are a few thousand Minnesota kids who are going to be making themselves heard in the next several months.'' Brown & Williamson refused the teens' request that the company pull ads in all magazines with over 1 million teen readers or 10% teen readership. The teens first proposed this reform in a March 29, 2000 letter to Brookes. ``Until they stop advertising in all magazines with high teen readership, Brown & Williamson will still be luring millions of teens with its ads,'' said Diane Tran, a high school junior from Rosemount High School. While tobacco companies have spent millions telling the world that they have changed in the wake of recent lawsuit settlements, studies have shown that they are adopting new marketing strategies that reach millions of teens. For instance, after the recent settlements forced tobacco companies to stop billboard advertising, a number of tobacco companies simply shifted their ad budgets to purchase more ads in magazines popular with youth. Brown & Williamson's advertising in magazines with at least 15% teen readership increased by 72% after the billboard ban, according to a study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Brown & Williamson brushed aside its targeting of youth magazines and instead stressed that it funds a number of programs aimed at reducing youth tobacco use. In one such program, a singer dubbed Fishbone Fred travels to schools to sing songs from his album ``Safety Songs for Kids,'' such as ``It's okay to say no.'' ``Big tobacco companies like to funnel money into a program like Fishbone Fred to create a good public image for themselves,'' said Jesse Sawyer, a high school sophomore at Duluth Central High School. ``But the truth is these programs are not effective and it's just a joke.'' Starting Monday afternoon, the teens and young adult mentors caravanned to Kentucky in a van and their TM Cruiser, a panel truck painted with the TM logo. The teens flew back to Minnesota Wednesday afternoon. The teens pledge to keep up the pressure on the tobacco industry to change. For instance, they will be asking teens from across Minnesota to send them ads torn from magazines. They plan to use the ads in a number of upcoming events to protest youth targeting by the industry. ``This is just the beginning,'' said Beau Birkholz, a high school junior at Howard Lake High School. ``We've seen that they haven't changed and we're going to be spreading the word our way.'' Target Market is a youth-led grassroots movement educating other young people about how the tobacco industry targets youth and what they can do to fight back. Target Market delivers its message youth-to-youth through ads, events, grassroots activities and one-on-one contacts. Target Market is the centerpiece of a tobacco prevention initiative being funded by the State of Minnesota's Youth Tobacco Endowment.

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