BAT's internet marketing plan 

According to a leaked internal memo, BAT plans to invest £2.5 million (around $3.6 million) in building a new website (codenamed project Horeca) aimed at young people world wide. It appears BAT's aim is to promote Lucky Strike and State Express 555 brands to young smokers, at a time when many countries are banning tobacco advertising. BAT has admitted that a prototype site, City Gorilla, was started in January, featuring Poland. Choosing a country with among the best anti-tobacco laws in Europe was presumably deliberate, on the basis that if the technique works there, it will work anywhere. . .

The BAT site may also be used to collect personal details of smokers, for later direct marketing. BAT hopes to build a database of 40 000 smokers in its first year. This technique, known as "permission marketing", represents another potential loophole in anti-tobacco legislation. And as we know, where there's a loophole, there's a tobacco company finding the best way through.

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