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Critics have charged British American Tobacco with “utter hypocrisy” for lobbying against anti-smoking regulations in Africa that are already in place in the UK.

Zambian lobbying efforts

Documents seen by journalists dispatched by the company’s subsidiary in Zambia to the nation's political leaders asks for proposals to prohibit tobacco advertising and sponsorship to be abandoned or delayed.

The corporation is pursuing amendments to a proposed legislation that include lowering the suggested dimensions of pictorial cautions on cigarette packaging, the removal of restrictions on scented cigarette varieties, and reduced sanctions for any firms breaking the new laws.

Anti-tobacco campaigner response

“If I was a politician, I would say that they allow the safeguarding of the British people and perpetuate the death of the Zambian people,” stated Master Chimbala.

Thousands of residents a year die from cigarette-linked health conditions, according to World Health Organization estimates.

Chimbala said the letter was known to have been circulated to multiple official agencies and was in circulating through public interest organizations.

Global industry interference concerns

The situation emerges alongside expanded apprehension about corporate intervention with public health regulations. Last month, WHO officials sounded an alarm that the tobacco industry was intensifying efforts to undermine international regulations.

“There is proof of business advocacy worldwide. Manufacturer hallmarks are on deferred levy rises in Indonesia, delayed regulations in Zambia and even a weakened declaration at the UN summit conference,” commented the corporate monitoring director.

Potential consequences

“When public health regulation isn’t passed because of this letter, the price could be paid in human lives who might potentially stop smoking.”

The public health measure progressing through Zambia’s parliament includes measures that exceed UK legislation by extending coverage to e-cigarettes, and mandating that graphic health warnings cover seventy-five percent of product packaging.

Business countermeasures

Via documentation, BAT suggests this be decreased to thirty to fifty percent “following international guideline limits”, delayed for at least one year after the legislation is approved.

Global health authorities specifically advises a alert needs to encompass at least half of the cigarette package face “and attempt to encompass as much of the main visible surfaces as possible”. Within Britain, warnings must cover 65% of a cigarette pack surfaces.

Flavored tobacco discussion

The company seeks the withdrawal of extensive controls on flavoured tobacco products, claiming that it would push consumers toward “illicitly sold” products. The company proposes banning a limited selection of “scents derived from desserts, candy, energy drinks, soft drinks and alcohol drinks”. All flavoured cigarettes have been outlawed across the UK since 2020.

The draft bill proposes sanctions for various offences “ranging from a fraction of annual sales to a decade in prison”.

Corporate defense

In the letter, the managing director of British American Tobacco Zambia claims the firm is “committed to good corporate behaviour” and “endorses the aims of governments to reduce smoking incidence and the connected wellbeing effects” but claims that “specific rules can have negative and unanticipated results.”

Critic response

Chimbala said the company's suggested modifications would “undermine this law so much that the required influence for it to create lasting transformation in society will not be achieved”.

The circumstance that multiple comparable regulations were present in the UK, where the company maintains its main office, was “complete contradiction”, he stated.

“We exist in a connected world. If I plant tobacco in my back yard and harvest that and distribute the goods – and my family members avoid tobacco, but my neighbor's family uses … to enrich myself and all the future family lines while my neighbor's family are perishing … is in itself complete moral collapse.”

Tobacco control legislation in the UK or elsewhere had failed to shutter businesses, the campaigner stated. “Legislation never shuts down the industry. It only protects the people.”

Standard business position

A BAT Zambia spokesperson said: “BAT Zambia conducts its activities following with relevant national regulations. Moreover, the corporation engages in the country’s legislative process in line with the suitable systems which provide for relevant group engagement in policymaking.”

The company was “not resisting legislation”, the representative commented, noting that young individuals should be protected from access to tobacco and nicotine.

“We champion progressive regulation to achieve intended public health goals, while acknowledging the spectrum of rights and obligations on businesses, users and involved parties,” the spokesperson stated, adding that the corporation's recommendations “represent the situation of the local commercial environment and cigarette sector, which encompasses growing volumes of illicit trade”.

Zambia’s department of trade, commerce and industry was approached for comment.