Message from the President Dear Colleague, In late December, the University of Michigan reported their Monitoring the Future findings for 2006, announcing that the historic decline in rates of daily smoking amongst our nation's younger teens has ended. This is alarming news for all of us in public health who have collectively worked so hard to prevent youth smoking, as it serves as a potential predictor for a possible upswing in years to come. It is timely then that the American Legacy Foundation® announces that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided matching funds to help our foundation reach youth in underserved, rural areas of the nation with our successful truth® youth-smoking prevention campaign in 45 small towns and rural areas. The grant, which is subject to the availability of funds, will allow Legacy to match, two-to-one, every CDC dollar up to $3.6 million over the next three years, increasing the frequency and volume of truth® advertising and small innovative grants in these areas, which currently have small or nonexistent smoking-prevention campaigns. With more than 80 percent of smokers starting before age 18, outreach to this audience remains critical in facing America's number-one cause of preventable death. The 2006 Monitoring the Future survey affirms that it is critical for all of us in tobacco control to renew our efforts to keep youth from starting to smoke, because many will become lifelong smokers and add to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who lose their lives prematurely to their tobacco-related disease each year. truth® remains the only national tobacco-prevention campaign not directed by the tobacco industry — and has been credited with 22% of the decline in youth smoking in the campaign's first two years (2000-2002). And these messages are more important now than ever before. The tobacco industry now spends more than $41 million every day to market and promote their deadly products in the U.S. and new research shows industry-sponsored anti-smoking campaigns actually can motivate youth to start smoking, not stop. In contrast, the truth® campaign is outspent 365-to-1 each year, so these matching funds are critical to our efforts to reach our nation’s youth with life-saving messages that we know work. CDC funds for grant year 2007 are being matched 2 to 1 by the American Legacy Foundation. The federal share of the money accounts for 30 percent, or $1.2 million, of the total funds being used for the youth tobacco prevention project. The remaining 70 percent will be the matching, non-federal share provided by the foundation, for approximately $2.8 million. We will continue our efforts to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit and ensure these life-saving messages make their way to youth across our nation. Sincerely, Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H. President & CEO American Legacy Foundation