Matt Myers

Matthew "Matt" Myers, Esq. is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a privately funded organization based in Washington, D.C. that was focuses its attention on reducing tobacco use among children. The Campaign promotes policies that it believes support a reduction in tobacco use.

Mr. Myers has been with the Campaign from its inception in 1996. He served as its Executive Vice President and Legal Counsel and oversaw the Campaign’s advocacy efforts. In 1997, Mr. Myers participated in the negotiations with the state attorneys general that led to the 1997 settlement with the Liggett Tobacco Company, and later participated in negotiations between the tobacco industry and the state attorneys general that led to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) agreement between those parties. Many believe the MSA was a flawed settlement, in part because the money tobacco companies agreed to pay the states was largely diverted to non-tobacco control-related purposes like road repair, scholarships and prison construction.

Involvement with Philip Morris
Matt Myers engaged in negotiations with Philip Morris circa 1997 to determine terms of a Master Settlement Agreement, and again negotiated with PM in 2004 to create legislation to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco.

An October, 2004 article in Roll Call, the newpaper of Capitol Hill, revealed that the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Philip Morris had each "broken ranks with their typical allies, formed a secret alliance and met clandestinely to iron out key sticking points on the legislation" that came before Congress. Roll Call wrote that "The face-to-face negotiating sessions and conference calls were so sensitive that Philip Morris and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids refused to tell even their closest allies." Other long-established anti-tobacco groups were excluded from the negotiations, according to Roll Call, who wrote "Unbeknownst to their allies in the public health community, representatives of the Tobacco Free Kids spoke with Philip Morris lobbyists several times and met at least once to iron out language that both sides could accept."

Sourcewatch resources

 * Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan (plan to enhance internal conflicts among anti-tobacco groups "to divide ranks within the tobacco control community")
 * Philip Morris' Regulatory Strategy Project (Corporate plan to enact FDA regulations on its own terms)
 * Project Sunrise

External resources

 * Philip Morris presentation/plan to enhance internal conflicts among anti-tobacco advocacy groups, 1997 untitled speech found in the files of David P. Nicoli of PM