Table III.

Timeline of “truth” campaign and responses

1997	Philip Morris launches ‘public image campaign’ titled PM21 to differentiate itself from other tobacco companies.
April 1998	Florida “truth” campaign launches.
1998	MSA signed.
1999	American Legacy Foundation created by MSA.
February–March 2000	Legacy “truth” campaign launches; Philip Morris executives attempt to define vilification, establish Vilification Task Force.
May 2000	Philip Morris strategy document identifies “truth” ads as negative advertising; suggests focus on corporate YSP efforts as response.
June 2000	Philip Morris focus group report reviews opinions of “truth” ads and findings about possible corporate responses.
September–November 2000	Philip Morris runs additional focus groups to test “truth” ads against potential responses, focused on publicizing corporate YSP efforts.
November 2001	Legacy presents findings at conference that “truth” is effective at reducing youth smoking, while Philip Morris YSP programs increase willingness to smoke.
December 2001–January 2002	Philip Morris repeatedly requests meetings with Legacy to obtain its dataset and reanalyze it.
February 2002	Legacy reports it will make data publicly available upon publication of findings.
March–May 2002	Philip Morris continues to demand Legacy data prior to publication, seeking intervention from Attorneys General.
June 2002	Legacy findings published in American Journal of Public Health; data released.
March 2003	Philip Morris requests that Attorneys General constrain Legacy by eliminating a subset of “truth” ads on grounds they constitute vilification.
July 2003	Philip Morris drafts guidelines for what constitutes appropriate “truth” ads.
2004	Legacy’s guaranteed educational funding terminated, dramatically limiting scope of “truth” campaign.