British American Tobacco Australia - Marketing our products responsibly

A fundamental requirement and the cornerstone to our international marketing principles is that our marketing is only aimed at adult smokers and is not designed or intended to engage or appeal to children.

We agree that our industry should be regulated, but we also think we should be able to communicate in a responsible way with adult consumers about our tobacco and nicotine products.

For a business like ours, it is imperative that we provide clear and meaningful information about the different risk profiles of our products to help consumers make informed choices.

Ensuring we market our products responsibly to adult consumers only is also key.

Our core marketing principles

For conventional tobacco products such as cigarettes, which pose serious health risks, our marketing is governed by our International Marketing Principles wherever they are sold around the world, often going beyond local legal requirements.

The International Marketing Principles comprise four core principles which we believe are at the heart of responsible marketing of conventional tobacco products. The rationale for each principle is explained and illustrated by a set of core standards.

Our four key marketing principles are:

1. We will not mislead about the risks of smoking.
2. We will only market our products to adult smokers.
3. We will not seek to influence the consumer’s decision about whether or not to smoke, nor how much to smoke.
4. It should always be clear to our consumers that our advertising originates from a tobacco company and that it is intended to promote the sale of our tobacco brands.

International Marketing Principles (0.1 mb)

The International Marketing Principles are our minimum standard and will be applied even when they are stricter than local laws. However, if local laws or other voluntary codes in markets are stricter than or override our Marketing Principles, then we will abide by those laws or voluntary codes.

Where local laws are less strict we promote higher standards generally, as well as a level competitive playing field, and ask governments to embody our Principles or similar provisions into local law.

Monitoring adherence

We are committed to 100% IMP compliance worldwide. All our marketing materials have to be formally reviewed and approved by our Legal and External Affairs function and we provide training to our marketing employees and trade representatives, as well as any external agencies we work with, to ensure they are effectively applied.

We welcome information from anybody who believes that any of our companies are not living up to the Principles. You are welcome to send any concerns through Contact us.