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The tobacco company stands accused of “total contradiction” for campaigning against tobacco control measures in Africa that currently exist in the UK.

Zambian lobbying efforts

A letter obtained by media originating from the corporation's branch in Zambia to the country’s government ministers asks for plans to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship to be scrapped or postponed.

The corporation is pursuing modifications of a proposed legislation that include lowering the recommended coverage of pictorial cautions on cigarette packaging, the withdrawal of controls on flavoured tobacco products, and watered-down penalties for any firms breaking the new laws.

Health advocate reaction

“As an elected official, I would say that they allow the safeguarding of the British people and sustain the fatalities of the Zambian people,” said the health advocate.

More than 7,000 Zambians a year pass away from cigarette-linked health conditions, according to World Health Organization estimates.

The campaigner stated the letter was known to have been circulated to various ministerial offices and was in distribution within civil society groups.

International corporate influence worries

The situation emerges alongside expanded apprehension about corporate intervention with health policies. Recently, international health experts issued a warning that the cigarette manufacturers was intensifying efforts to dilute worldwide restrictions.

“Evidence exists of industry lobbying worldwide. Tobacco company fingerprints are on delayed tax increases in Indonesia, stalled legislation in Zambia and even a diluted statement at the UN summit conference,” said the corporate monitoring director.

Possible outcomes

“When public health regulation doesn't get enacted because of this letter, the price could be paid in human lives who might possibly give up cigarettes.”

The anti-smoking legislation progressing through Zambia’s parliament includes regulations surpassing UK legislation by also applying to e-cigarettes, and requiring that pictorial cautions cover three-quarters of product packaging.

Company alternative suggestions

In the letter, the company recommends this be lowered to thirty to fifty percent “following international suggested parameters”, deferred for no less than 12 months after the legislation is approved.

The WHO specifically advises a caution must occupy at least fifty percent of the front of a pack “and aim to cover as much of the principal display areas as possible”. In the UK, warnings must cover nearly two-thirds of a packet’s front and back.

Flavored tobacco discussion

The company seeks the elimination of comprehensive limitations on scented smoking items, claiming that it would lead smokers to “illegally traded” products. The company proposes restricting fewer varieties 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 suggests penalties for different infractions “varying from a portion of yearly revenue to ten-year jail sentences”.

Company justification

In the letter, the corporate leader of British American Tobacco Zambia claims the firm is “committed to good corporate behaviour” and “endorses the aims of governments to decrease cigarette consumption and the connected wellbeing effects” but claims that “certain measures can have undesirable and unforeseen outcomes.”

Campaigner rebuttal

The campaigner argued BAT’s proposed changes would “undermine this law so much that the necessary effect for it to produce permanent improvement in society will not be achieved”.

The reality that multiple comparable regulations operated within the UK, where the company maintains its main office, was “utter hypocrisy itself”, he said.

“We live in a connected world. Should I grow cigarettes in my garden and harvest that and sell it out – and my children do not consume tobacco, but my neighbor's family uses … to enrich myself and all the generations of my children while my neighbour’s children are succumbing … is in itself total emotional collapse.”

Anti-smoking regulations in the UK or elsewhere had not caused companies to close, Chimbala said. “Regulations don't close the industry. They merely safeguard the people.”

Formal company response

The company representative commented: “The company operates its business in compliance with applicable local laws. Further, the corporation engages in the state's regulatory development in line with the relevant frameworks which enable interested party involvement in regulation development.”

The corporation remained “not against rules”, they said, adding that young individuals should be safeguarded against obtaining cigarettes and nicotine.

“We advocate for evolving legislation to realize planned community wellbeing objectives, while recognizing the range of entitlements and duties on businesses, users and involved parties,” they said, noting that the corporation's recommendations “represent the situation of the Zambian market and smoking product business, which involves growing volumes of illegal commerce”.

The country's office of business, commercial affairs and industrial development was solicited for statement.