INFKT truth^sm RETURNS FOR ENCORE SUMMER TOUR, HITTING 41 STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

New York, NY, April 23, 2002 - truth^sm, the largest anti-tobacco campaign for teens, announces its summer 2002 INFKT truth^sm Tour (pronounced "infect"). This action-packed tour starts in June 2002 and runs through September 2002 with venues in seven major cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Kansas City, Seattle, and Denver.

The INFKT truth^sm Tour delivers strong messages on the tobacco industry's marketing practices and more at some of the summer's hottest events and venues that draw large teen crowds. Throughout the summer, 60 truth^sm youth marketers will reach out to young people at these events and infect hundreds of thousands of teens with truth^sm.

The INFKT truth^sm Tour arrives at events in high-tech truth^sm trucks rigged with state-of-the-art DJ equipment and video monitors, video gaming stations, XM satellite radios, and Internet access. Each stop brings out the city's hottest DJs to guest spin and features impromptu rap sessions, join-in free-style demos and giveaways of wildly popular truth^sm gear, like hats, shirts, bandanas, and towels designed exclusively for this year's tour. The tour will stop in 200 cities in 41 states over four months.

"This is a great way for people to really get their hands on truth^sm and have a great time doing it," said truth^sm marketer Arion Fletcher of Atlanta. "Plus, we will be able to reach more teens than ever before. For almost everyone in the U.S., the INFKT truth^sm Tour will be coming to a city near you. Look for truth^sm at the hottest summer events."

Last summer, the 2001 truth^sm Tour made stops at MTV's Beach House in Florida, the FOX Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles, TRL in Times Square, and the Hot 97 Birthday Bash in Atlanta - hitting more than 754 events in 158 cities within 29 states, and reaching more than 6.5 million people.

The INFKT truth^sm Tour will make stops at the Vans Warped Tour, the Triple Crown Series, the Core Extreme Sports Tour (formerly known as Panasonic Shockwave), the AND 1 Streetball Tour, the Source Awards, concerts, festivals, parades, malls, arcades, action sports competitions, streetball tourneys, movie premieres, freestyle moto events, skateparks, and beaches throughout the summer of 2002.

The 2002 INFKT truth^sm Tour will roll out online at www.thetruth.com. On the site, users will have an opportunity to experience the tour even if they can't participate in person. Users can learn about the truth^sm marketers and DJs out on tour, see footage of previous events, find out where upcoming events will be taking place, suggest events in their hometowns, read and submit to an online zine, and participate in real time conversations with other teens on hot issues.

The award-winning truth^sm campaign was recently hailed for helping to slash youth smoking rates. The "Monitoring the Future" study, released in December 2001, reported dramatic declines in smoking rates among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders and cited the truth^sm campaign as one of the reasons for this public health victory. The study was sponsored by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and conducted by the University of Michigan.

The bottom line is that truth^sm gives teens facts about the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry and about tobacco products. Once teens have the facts, they can make their own decisions about tobacco use. The effort is funded by the American Legacy Foundation, which was created by the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry and attorneys general of 46 states.

www.thetruth.com.