September 5, 2001 – Truth, the nation's largest anti-tobacco campaign targeting teens, will debut three advertisements during the MTV Video Music Awards, September 6. The new ads feature truth teens exposing the hazards of tobacco, this time by highlighting chemicals found in cigarettes and cigarette smoke, such as ammonia and cyanide. The new creative is part of the truth campaign's ongoing effort that challenges tobacco companies and tobacco industry practices.

"The tobacco industry has no restrictions on what it can put in cigarettes," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of American Legacy Foundation, which sponsors truth. "There are nearly 600 chemicals tobacco companies report they add to cigarettes. This is something we think teens should know. These new ads will excite teens to spread the truth about Big Tobacco and the toxic substances Big Tobacco adds to an already deadly substance, tobacco."

The advertisements that will air during the Video Music Awards program include:

"Ratman" -- A giant rat (really a young man in a rat costume) climbs out of a Times Square subway station into daylight and a busy New York City street. The Rat has surfaced, not only to die, but also to spread his message, which is scrawled on a piece of cardboard left beside him. The message: "There's cyanide in cigarette smoke. Same as in rat poison."

"Bio-Suits" -- truth teens outfitted in bright orange biohazard-style suits are in search of tobacco industry executives at a major tobacco conference. The teens' objective is to offer protective suits to anyone who will accept one so that people can protect themselves against the hazards of harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.

"Ammoniaide" -- Two entrepreneurial truth teens take the idea of the lemonade stand to a new level at a major tobacco conference. The teens are promoting a new drink called "Ammoniaide," which, according to the teens, is flavored with ammonia to enhance the drink's taste -- borrowing the idea from tobacco industry documents that say that ammonia is added to cigarettes for flavor.

Truth is the nation's largest anti-tobacco campaign for teens. It exposes the tricks of tobacco marketing by giving teens the facts about the tobacco industry and its products and allows them to make informed choices about tobacco use. The effort is funded by the American Legacy Foundation, which was created by the 1998 settlement between the tobacco industry and 46 states.