Social Responsibility – Imperial Tobacco Company

1. Health risks of smoking

The global community of health scientists agrees that smokers are more likely to contract heart disease, cancer or other grave illnesses than non-smokers, and that smoking fewer or lighter cigarettes does not reduce the risk of disease or tobacco addiction. It is our opinion that the tobacco industry should not participate in discussions about medical facts. We acknowledge that health issues should be discussed by the health profession, and we accept their view that there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. That is why we include health warnings on cigarette packaging. Each smoker and potential smoker should take into account the health warnings before making the decision whether to smoke or continue smoking, and should be aware that smoking is a habit some individuals find very difficult to abandon.

We agree that public health authorities should warn smokers and potential smokers about consequences of smoking, however, given that cigarettes are a legal product many people enjoy, we believe the final decision should remain in the hands of every adult individual. We believe smoking is a personal choice which every responsible, adult individual should make for herself or himself.

2. Marketing of our tobacco products

We strictly follow regulation prohibiting or restricting tobacco marketing in the countries where such regulation applies. Instead of marketing, we focus on building an excellent reputation and corporate identity of our company and its members, by using responsible promotional activities guided by our own principles of ethical business. One of the core principles we certainly follow in promoting our company is ensuring that activities are directed only towards the adult population.

Marketing and promotion via electronic media and motion pictures:

We shall not engage in any promotional activities via media aimed exclusively at youth and minors. In the cases where marketing is permitted in cinemas, we will use such promotional opportunities only during available advertising slots before and after screenings of motion pictures intended for adult viewers.
In cases when marketing is permitted on television, we will use such promotional opportunities only in late evening hours.

Marketing via print media

Sponsorships

Other types of promotion

Names and logotypes of our products shall not appear on objects intended for children and youth, such as toys, sports gear, video games, etc.
In cases when promotional activity consists of sale or giveaway of clothing items, we will only distribute adult sizes of those items.
The above does not apply to placement of our product brand names or logotypes on objects directly related to tobacco consumption, such as lighters, ash trays, and other.
Promotional activities involving direct mail will be aimed only at persons of age. In the cases when prizes are given in exchange for a coupons, packaging and so forth, the person claiming the prize must prove they are not underage.
Our promotional activities shall not include free gifts of tobacco and tobacco products for advertising purposes.

Cigarette ingredients and smoke constituents

In order to inform and protect consumers, every product packaging contains information on levels of harmful chemicals contained in tobacco smoke – nicotine and tar. It is important to note that these published levels of nicotine and tar are calculated using scientific methods in a laboratory setting, and that the quantity of nicotine and tar a smoker inhales does not necessary equal the amounts obtained in a laboratory setting, but rather varies from smoker to smoker. Generally speaking, the more intensive the way a smoker inhales, the larger the quantity of harmful constituents of smoke.

As part of our operations we follow world trends and developments regarding efforts to reduce levels of tar and nicotine in cigarettes.

Based on the level of tar in a cigarette, we place our products in categories such as full flavor, light, ultra light, etc. We must emphasize that these categories are descriptive and serve to compare brands in terms of intensity, flavor, and other qualities. In our promotional activities we shall not suggest or imply that light or ultra light cigarettes are safe or safer than cigarettes in the full flavor category.