The British American Tobacco (BAT) has revealed having contracts offer with some 140,000 farmers as part of its fair treatment and prices policies for farmers globally.
Group Head, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at BAT, Kingsley
Wheaton, made this revelation in response to the World No Tobacco Day 2013 made
available to NaijaAgroNet and
entitled “What would a world with no
legal tobacco industry really look like?”
He said that the company has direct
relationships with farmers and helps them to provide consistent revenue and
fair prices.
“We also provide advice regarding sustainable
agricultural practices and crop rotation,” he said, stressing that the reality
is that people will continue to smoke.
He argued that instead of buying legal taxed
cigarettes, made by legitimate tobacco companies and sold by reputable
retailers, people, whenever there is no legal tobacco industry, people are
likely to turn to black market sources to get what they want.
NaijaAgroNet
recalls that the World No Tobacco Day 2013, BAT believes the world may not
after-all be as exciting as some people are painting, in the event the legal
tobacco industry is forced out of existence.
Wheaton, pointed out that the tobacco industry is
highly regulated, sells a legal product and has a legitimate business.
“We conduct our business in a professional and responsible way, abiding by the laws in all the countries we operate in, often going above and beyond our legal obligations,” he submitted.
Remmy Nweke/NaijaAgroNet
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