Tobacco Money Worse Than Blood Diamonds, Groups Warn Fashola

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Civil Society

Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) have condemned the celebratory reception accorded the

Managing Director of British American Tobacco (BAT), Keith Gretton,  during  a visit to the

Lagos State Governor,  Babatunde Fashola  on Monday, September 16, 2013

In a statement jointly issued in Abuja, the groups said: “this is a major miss-step by Lagos

State and we owe it a duty to remind the Governor, seen by many as a role model, that

tobacco investment is worse than blood diamonds”.

Media reports indicated that Governor Fashola had, while hosting Gretton in his office at

Alausa, hailed BAT for allegedly creating jobs since it began operations in 2003, and added

that the Lagos government would continue to maintain a conducive environment for BAT and

other businesses to thrive in line with its objectives of “aggressive investment” in

infrastructure and security to improve the business environment.

During the meeting, Gretton disclosed that Nigeria was one of BAT’s top 10 markets, adding

that the company would continue to perform its corporate responsibilities to Nigerians. He

also said BAT supported agriculture and remits about N15 billion in taxes annually to the

Federal Government .

But in a statement issued in Lagos, ERA/FoEN  and CISLAC  said that their findings revealed

that  the main import of the meeting was to secure Fashola’s endorsement for BAT’s Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) project for the state at a time the state is considering a law

to  ban smoking in public places.

The groups said: “We have gathered that BAT was making plans to donate Hilux jeeps to the

Lagos Security Trust Fund just as some corporations did few a weeks ago.  This is carefully

planned so that BAT could interfere in the proposed law to prohibit smoking in public

places. This is completely unacceptable.

“Tobacco companies have demonstrated beyond reasonable conviction that they are enemies of

public health and therefore enemies of the public good. Their attempt to tap into the

profile of Governor Fashola to secure public acceptance is repulsive.
“We therefore want plead with Fashola not to taint his political stature with tobacco money.

 Any porridge from Big Tobacco will run the stomach! A good research by his aides can reveal

how political leaders around the world treat funds.”

“What we need in Lagos  State is a strong legislation  to  make corporations  accountable

for all costs associated with production and profits, and in this case, to make  the tobacco

industry accountable for the deaths, diseases ,  environmental, social  and other  costs 

associated with smoking in the State.

 “Not only is this unholy visit very disturbing, it has confirmed what we have always said

that the tobacco industry will never subscribe to any form of regulation. That BAT top

echelon is visiting the Lagos State Government at a time the State is contemplating

far-reaching laws to regulate the marketing and sale of cigarettes in the state is very

revealing to the discerning.

“While we believe Lagos, like any other state must attract investments, a company that

markets lethal products is definitely not the kind of investment that the people of Lagos or

Nigerians need. . The Governor’s pat on the back of a company that has a track record of

frustrating regulations is totally unacceptable”.

 “Human rights and the business environment are interconnected because people are involved.

A decent environment for Lagosians means protection against indignity of all sorts including

exposure to dangerous products like cigarettes, direct smoking, second-hand smoking or third

degree smoking”.

“We want to remind the governor that the choice of Lagos by BAT is informed by the company’s

belief that the huge number of youths in Lagos is a big market that must be targeted as

replacement smokers for a dying generation of smokers”.

“Rather than open its doors to BAT at this point, we feel the Lagos state government should

take a cue from the Federal Capital Territory and other states that have gone as far as

declaring smoke-free public places, ban on public smoking and other regulatory steps against

tobacco manufacturing firms”.

 “The governor rightly posited that many of the diseases today are caused by the lifestyle

choices that people make. We  submit that BAT and other tobacco companies through their

misinformation, glamorization of cigarettes and deceitful marketing strategies hide vital

information on the deadly nature of their products to users to get them hooked on 

cigarettes.

“This suspicious visit to the Lagos State Governor is a continuation of BAT’s strategy of

ingratiating with government officials to seem socially responsible while garnering good

press.

“Our demands are unequivocal: The Lagos State government should immediately revoke permits

for the company’s four  million pounds headquarters which it claims to be a demonstration of

its commitment to Nigeria, and put in place far-reaching tobacco control laws. Anything

short of this is a license to the tobacco company to continue the killing of our people”.