Comments from activist irk British American Tobacco; company threatens lawsuit in retaliation
On 4th August, 2009, Professor Gerard Dubois, a well-recognized tobacco control advocate from France, in a television interview to discuss cigarette smuggling, commented on tobacco companies speaking against tobacco smuggling as being comparable to Marc Dubois (a convicted paedophile and sexual offender) speaking against sex crimes. Shortly thereafter, British American Tobacco (BAT) France's President, Mr. Marc Jones, declared himself "scandalised by the hurtful words" used by Prof. Dubois, and that BAT is now 'considering' a lawsuit in the name of the 350 BAT employees and their families who were “struck by these words”. Prof. Dubois is the President, Alliance against Tobacco, France, and President of the National Committee against Nicotine, France.
The basis for Prof. Dubois’ statement is research conducted on millions of internal documents the tobacco industry was forced to make public under the Master Settlement Agreement under which the industry paid 206 billion dollars to 46 US States to escape lawsuits on diseases caused by cigarettes. All those internal documents are available on the Internet. These documents clearly implicate the role of the transnational tobacco industry in cigarette smuggling globally. For example research by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), UK indict the industry in the racketeering of tobacco and being involved in smuggling. Many of the industry documents clearly state the sales of such smuggled stock in what was classified by the BAT as DNP – or Duty Not Paid – markets. This is a clear indication that BAT, whether directly or indirectly, was involved in the smuggling of tobacco products across various markets.
Speaking on the issue, Dr.P.C.Gupta, Director, Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, said “There is very clear and enough evidence to prove that the transnational tobacco companies themselves are involved in smuggling operations as a means of providing cheap cigarettes across geographies. The comments from Prof. Dubois, though extreme, are a quite fair analogy of the paradox of tobacco companies speaking of action against tobacco smuggling. Such companies, in addition to having no moral right to make such comments, have also been subject to litigation and strict action for being part of conspiracy to violate laws.”
“Tobacco products worldwide are still within affordable rates for most sections of society, and smuggled goods ensure that the products stay available at such rates, despite any increases in taxation that the government may implement. The availability of cheap smuggled cigarettes is then used as an argument by the industry for reducing taxes. This is clearly detrimental to public health globally, and in such a scheme of things wherein tobacco companies themselves are involved in the smuggling process, there companies have no right to claim that they are concerned about these activities in any way, much less to speak of action against the smuggling operations”, he added.
According to documents that the company was forced to release in 2000, BAT has been clearly involved in massive smuggling operations in Asia, in addition to Latin America and Africa. These documents also reveal BAT's real stance on health, passive smoking, addiction and other tobacco related issues. Such proof clearly does away with the righteous stand taken by the company on last week’s incident, and governments across the world should be made aware of such reports, so that proper action may be taken against transnational tobacco companies that may be involved in putting the lives of millions at such great risk through their substantial malpractices.
India, as well as the rest of South East Asia, is in the grips of a growing tobacco epidemic. Various reports state that the annual death toll from tobacco-related diseases is set to exceed 1 million by 2010. The rest of the Asian region fares no better, with upwards of 1.2 million deaths a year from tobacco-related causes. It is highly essential for countries in the region to realize the magnitude of the epidemic, as well as the impact of the same in the long term. WHO reports state that in coming years, the death toll globally may clearly increase to a staggering 1 billion and upwards. It becomes imperative therefore that this epidemic be brought in control through whatever means possible – including a strong clampdown on tobacco smuggling in the region.
About Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health
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Healis - Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health is an organization dedicated to improving public health in India and other developing countries. Established on August 1, 2004 it is a leader in quality research in India. It conducts research specific to India’s unique social and cultural settings to help assess the health situation and to help guide health services and programs. Healis works in collaboration with leading National and International Health and Research organizations.