Jump to full article: L'express (mu), 2004-08-29
Author: Sonia SERRA
Intro: Véronique Leclézio, director of the ViSa (Vie-Santé) association, reminds us each year that British American Tobacco (BAT) scholarships must stop. The spearhead of the antitobacco lobby in Mauritius explains why.
Each year you object to BAT's scholarships. Why?
This scholarship programme was launched in 1999, at the time that tobacco advertising was banned in Mauritius. We know that advertising is essential for business. The tobacco industry had to find a way to circumvent the ban by using this marketing technique of scholarships for young students.
Youth is the real target of the tobacco industry because 90% of smokers start smoking before the age of 20, according to the World Health Organisation.
So, you can't see anything good in the tobacco industry. Don't you trust its 'Social Responsibility'?
But where does this money come from? It is not a charitable industry, it is an industry that kills. Nothing could make us forget that these profits are made at the expense of people's health. . . .
The most important event is the ratification by Mauritius of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. . . .
The answer of British American Tobacco
For Naushad Ramoly, the communication officer of BAT, the scholarships for students in need are not a form of advertising because this would imply brand advertising and there is no mention of any tobacco brand.
" I don't think either that there is a link between the ad ban and our scholarship programme. We are an ethical enterprise, legal and regulated."
He adds:"All enterprises are engaged in social actions and, like the others, we have activities that help society. This is not marketing." . . .
"It is not by calling this industry the devil that we'll get anywhere. BAT is open to solutions and proposals."
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