British American Tobacco’s continued involvement in illicit tobacco trade

Background Internal documents released in the 1990s and 2000s demonstrated that illicit tobacco trade (ITT) was central to transnational tobacco companies’ (TTCs) business strategies between the 1960 and 1990s. TTC products have continued to make up the majority of global ITT since then. This paper uses a set of internal British American Tobacco (BAT) documents to examine the company’s involvement in ITT from 2000 to 2014. Methods Keyword searches on a dataset of approximately 15 000 BAT documents dating from 2000 to 2014, primarily focusing on East and Central Africa and the Middle East, identified 210 relevant documents which were analysed thematically, drawing on a hermeneutic approach to company document analysis. Results Documents suggest BAT remained involved in ITT in parts of Africa and the Middle East throughout 2000–2014, appearing to rely on some of the same strategies for which TTCs were subject to legal action in the 1990s, including continuing to work with distributors linked to smuggling and supplying products to poorly regulated areas, leading to further smuggling. In addition, despite entering into partnerships with authorities to curb smuggling, documents indicate BAT concealed illicit activities. Conclusion Governments in the affected regions should consider if legal action is necessary, and the UK (where BAT is headquartered) government should reopen investigations into BAT’s conduct. Our findings demonstrate that greater transparency in the tobacco supply chain is needed, including via independent data and research, track and trace systems, electronic cargo tracking and audits. All governments should refrain from partnering with TTCs to control illicit trade.