[Intl-tobacco] BAT slammed in new report

[Robert Weissman]

Apologies for the delay in getting out this important clip

BAT slammed in new report
Oneworld.net
21 April 2004
http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/84111/1/

British American Tobacco has been slammed for its appalling health,
environmental
and development record in advance of its AGM today. "BAT=92s Big Wheeze" is
a new
report published by health campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH=
),
leading development charity Christian Aid, and the environmental pressure
group
Friends of the Earth. The report is also backed by NGOs from countries
damaged by
BAT=92s bad business behaviour. (Read the report in full:
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/conduct/pdfs/batbigwheeze.pdf)

The report looks at BAT=92s record in Britain, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria,
Pakistan,
Russia and Uganda. It accuses BAT of:

=95 Making tobacco products which cause about 750,000 premature deaths
around the
world every year. Five million people die from smoking in the world each
year. BAT
has a 15% share of the total tobacco market and sells 792 billion
cigarettes a year
under more than 300 brand names. By the year 2020 the number of deaths
from smoking
is expected to double to ten million. Seven million of these will be in
developing
countries where health services are already under-resourced and
over-stretched.

=95 Damaging the health of rural communities in Brazil and Kenya through
encouraging
the use of dangerous pesticides, in many cases without proper protection.

=95 Exploiting tobacco growers in Nigeria, through high prices for loaned
materials
and low prices for their products.

=95 Flooding Pakistan and Russia with advertising and sponsorship designed
to addict
a new generation of young people to cigarettes.

=95 Encouraging forest destruction in Uganda, through heavy use of dry wood
to cure
processed tobacco.

The report also reveals how BAT recently faced legal action in the US for
money
laundering and racketeering, and how in Australia it was recently found
guilty of
document shredding. BAT also continues to lie about the health effects of
cigarette
smoke, for example claiming that: "there is no convincing evidence that
ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) exposure genuinely increases the risk of
non-smokers
developing lung cancer or heart disease."

Meanwhile BAT has reported operating profits for 2003 of =A32.8 billion. BA=
T
directors are paid huge sums for their activities: Chief Executive Officer
Martin
Broughton receives =A32.4 million a year, and top Tory politician Kenneth
Clarke MP
is paid =A3125,000 a year for chairing the company=92s committee on Corpora=
te
Social
Responsibility, and for other duties including helping to develop new
markets in
countries such as Vietnam.

Mr Broughton claims that: "corporate social responsibility is integral
to our
approach to the management of our business globally", a claim the report
describes
as "greenwash, bluewash, and hogwash".

Mr Clarke claims that "BAT is not about window dressing", but the report
states
that "in Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil and Russia, BAT
advertises itself
as a good corporate citizen, while aggressively marketing its cigarettes
to the
youth and female market, failing to look after its farmers and failing
in its
environmental stewardship responsibility. BAT =85 persists in spending huge
amounts
on public relations while failing its basic responsibilities to society
and the
environment."

The report quotes experts and campaigners from around the world, who
condemn BAT
for its business practices.

Dr Margaret Mungherera, President of the Uganda Medical Association says:
"One
thing I=92d say to BAT shareholders is, it is a pity they can sit there and
gain
enormous economic benefits while BAT is selling cigarettes that are
killing so many
people."

Akinbode Oluwafeme of Friends of the Earth Nigeria says that: "BAT
shouldn=92t come
to Nigeria and do what it can=92t do in the UK. We don=92t want this tobacc=
o
company to
come here and addict our children so that its shareholders will have more
dividends."

Dr Vladimir Levshin of the Russian Cancer Research Centre says that:
"Despite the
enormous human toll caused by tobacco, the efforts to control it are an
uphill
battle in Russia, with tiny groups of people challenging enormous
corporate interests, with minimal or no interest from government."

Professor Peter Odhiambo of Kenya=92s National Tobacco Free Initiative
Committee says
that: "Multinationals are lethal, unethical and corrupting =85 they think
they can
arm twist Third World governments with threats of labour unrest and loss
of revenue."

Allah Rakha, a 13 year old who lives in Islamabad, Pakistan, has now been
smoking
for nearly a year. He says that: "I started to smoke because the ads show
the hero
to be so powerful and clever that he saves all his friends. I wish I could
be one
like him."

The report demands that the UK government should change the law to require
companies and their directors to take account of social and environmental
issues in
all their activities. A new law on corporate accountability would require
BAT to
report on the negative impacts of their activities and products around the
world,
place legal duties on directors to take all reasonable steps to reduce
these impacts, and enable affected communities abroad to seek compensation
for health
damage, human rights violations and environmental impacts in the UK courts.

Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH, Dr Daleep Mukarji, Director of Christian
Aid, Tony
Juniper, Director of Friends of the Earth, comment in the introduction
to the
report that:

"While genuine moves by UK companies to improve their social and
environmental
standards are welcome, the difference between the claims BAT makes in its
social
reports and its true impacts are stark=85 The bitter truth is that BAT is
one of the
least socially responsible companies in the world."

For further information contact:

Ian Willmore (ASH)
Tel: +44 20 7739 5902
Mobile: +44 7887641344

Andrew Pendleton (Christian Aid)
Tel: +44 20 7620 4444
Mobile: +44 7720 813865

Craig Bennett (Friends of the Earth)
Tel: +44 20 7566 1667
Mobile: +44 7720 147280