Key Points: 1) The annual shareholder meetings of the world's two largest multinational tobacco companies, Altria and British American Tobacco, offer a unique opportunity to youth advocates to draw attention to the companies' aggressive promotion of death and disease and efforts to thwart effective tobacco control regulations around the world. 2) Since 2001, hundreds of youth have participated in advocacy events around the meetings. In 2006 and 2007, youth from around the U.S. traveled to East Hanover, NJ to engage in a one-day advocacy training and actions around the Altria meeting. In 2007, a parallel set of youth advocacy events was held for the first time in London around the BAT meeting. 3) These activities have garnered excellent local, national, and international media coverage; effectively overshadowed the positive public relations efforts of the company; and given youth a chance to further develop skills acquired in the advocacy training.

Learning Objectives: Session participants will learn about the events around the Altria and BAT meetings through a multimedia presentation, firsthand accounts from youth and adult organizers, and handouts. Sign-up forms for groups interested in future actions will be distributed.

Benefits: The events around Altria and BAT annual meetings provide youth with highly valuable information, skill-building training, and hands-on media advocacy experience that they have subsequently used to support tobacco control efforts in their local communities and states.