Message from the President Dear Colleagues, 2007 was a very productive year for the American Legacy Foundation® and the entire public health community. While there is still much work to be done, significant strides have been made in the fight against tobacco. In late November, R.J. Reynolds announced its decision to discontinue print advertisements in the upcoming year. While the announcement only applies to 2008, getting these ads out of magazines is a positive set. This action comes after a concerted effort by the foundation and others working in tobacco control, urging the company to stop running Camel No. 9 advertisements in women's magazines and to take the brand off the market. You can read more about this effort further in the newsletter. In other developments, the 2007 truth® tour marked the eighth consecutive year truth® has been on the road and in the field talking with teens about tobacco at venues and events that appeal to teenagers. The grassroots tour traveled across the country with the Vans Warped tour and three other teen-oriented events. The tours were attended by more than 750,000 teens and truth® distributed more than 33,000 pieces of truth® gear. The new smoking cessation campaign, EX® is scheduled to launch in Spring 2008. The Foundation spent much of the past year preparing for the launch by researching, evaluating and testing the program in four pilot cities - Buffalo, San Antonio, Grand Rapids, MI, and Baltimore. In an attempt to reach as many smokers as possible and make the program truly national, Legacy is reaching out to national public health organizations and state colleagues to gather their support and form an alliance. We welcome the insight and support from many of our partners at the state level in this very important effort to ensure more Americans who desperately want to quit smoking get the help and resources they need. Finally, I am thrilled to report that, after years of hard work by many of us in tobacco control and public health, we are seeing meaningful progress in the effort to limit smoking in movies. Former Maryland Attorney-General Joseph Curran, current Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, 40 other Attorneys General, Congressman Edward Markey and other members of Congress have championed this cause to positive effect. This summer, the Motion Picture Association of America announced it will now consider pervasive smoking in films as a criteria when rating films. In addition, several major media companies have announced policy changes that reflect a shift in how Hollywood deals with the issue of smoking in film. These are just a few of the achievements that Legacy is proud to have taken a leadership role this year. We begin the New Year at a new address (1724 Massachusetts Avenue, NW) here in Washington, and look forward to continuing our collective work, with you there, as we look to further our mission to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Happy Holidays, Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H. President & CEO American Legacy Foundation