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New evidence reveals that British American Tobacco is breaking its own marketing code in Africa
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New evidence reveals that marketing tactics used by the London-based British American Tobacco Company in Africa clearly breach their own marketing code and are attracting young smokers.
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In an investigation carried out for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two's This World, Dragons' Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne uncovers clear evidence of breaches of the code in relation to marketing to young people.
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These include: the sale and promotion of single cigarettes (which are particularly attractive to youth); music events in venues which are attractive to youth, which are endorsed by celebrities wearing branded T-shirts; and promotional goods (including bags and hats) which feature the brand name of cigarettes.
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In a hard-hitting investigation, Bannatyne Takes On Big Tobacco: This World, to be shown on Tuesday 1 July, businessman Duncan Bannatyne travels to Malawi, Mauritius and Nigeria.
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He discovers BAT are using tactics which circumvent bans on advertising and raise the profile of cigarettes in countries where doctors are already predicting a potential epidemic of smoking-related diseases. Ìý
BAT's own marketing code acknowledges that single cigarettes are particularly attractive to youth (who may not be able to afford a whole packet of cigarettes) and BAT claim that they do not encourage the sale of single sticks because it encourages youth access.
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Yet in Mauritius, Bannatyne discovers special pots which BAT have distributed to shops to make it easier for them to sell single cigarettes.
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In Malawi and Nigeria he discovers posters that BAT have produced depicting single cigarettes and showing the price of a single cigarette.
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He also meets children as young as 11 who are buying the single cigarettes and already developing a nicotine habit.
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With secretly-shot footage, the programme shows the pungwe, or music, events organised by BAT in Malawi which show cigarettes as sexy, exciting and fun.
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The concert features some of Malawi's most popular bands wearing branded T-shrits.
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The programme also shows promotional goods showing the Pall Mall brand name on display at a party for the winners of a BAT competition.
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In an interview with Chris Proctor, Head of Research and Regulation at BAT, Bannatyne challenges him on the issue of single cigarettes and other tactics he believes are breaching their marketing code.
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He shows Proctor a poster advertising single cigarettes from Malawi.
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Proctor says: "Yeah, I mean it is a real issue. I agree, Duncan."
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He continues: Ìý"Well, I mean the posters you showed me shows some branding and that will be against the marketing standards that we've just reinvigorated and will be finalised for June 2008.
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"Anything at a point of sale, a poster like that, could say a price but it'd have to be in black and white with a health warning."
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When Proctor is shown another poster from Nigeria, he reiterates: "Yeah, no, I agree. The Nigerian one has the price of two sticks but shows the pack and so does the one from Malawi so we're trying to say – this is a pack – the pack has got health warning on.
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"The practical matter is we do put the price of single sticks here. As I said, in terms of the upgrade of our marketing standards this type of branding saying the name of the product will go away."
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When challenged about the Pungwe or music event, which had no formal age verification on the door, Proctor says: "Well if that was the case, that is disappointing, it's certainly not what we would wish to happen."
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On the issue of advertising, Bannatyne confronts BAT with evidence of some shops in Mauritius which were painted the same colour as "Matinee", one of their leading brands of cigarettes.
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One of the shopkeepers told Bannatyne that BAT painted it for him to advertise their cigarettes three years ago – after the ban on advertising came into force in 1999.
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Proctor concedes that the shops should not have been painted by BAT.
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He says: "Yeah, no, I've seen that and you're right, there were a series of shops that had been painted a yellow, the same colour as one of our brands there.
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"We had a look at it recently. Wasn't against the law but it didn't look right so we've been back in there and we've been making sure those are repainted."
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When Duncan shows him a pot taken from a shop in Mauritius, Proctor argues that they should have been withdrawn completely from the market in 2006.
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Proctor explains: " .this should be an old one, if it's not an old one, we need to look at it."
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He continues: "Well, I talked to our company there and they said they've stopped that since 2006 so we'll certainly re-look at that."
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At the end of the interview, Proctor adds: ""Well, I think your criticism helps all companies like ourselves. Because we listen to those criticisms and we will be looking at those issues."
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Bannatyne's final verdict on BAT is that they are "the unacceptable face of British business."
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Notes to Editors
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British American Tobacco are a London-based company. Africa is one of their key markets. Their profits last year were £2.9billion.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that smoking-related deaths in Africa will double in the next 20 years and that by 2030 smoking-related deaths in Africa will be greater than TB and Malaria combined. Ìý Ìý
30% of 11-15-year-old children in Mauritius smoke (Global Youth Tobacco Survey). In the classroom that Bannatyne visited, more than half of the 11-14-year-olds smoke. Some had started smoking when they were as young as eight years old.
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BAT have a significant presence in Zimbabwe. In 2005 they were heavily criticised when they awarded the tobacco grower of the year prize to the wife of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.
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If using any of this story please credit Bannatyne Takes On Big Tobacco: This World, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two, Tuesday 1 July 2008, 9.00pm.
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