Tobacco giant accused of luring kids to smoke
Anti-tobacco campaigners today accused a major cigarette manufacturer of adding sweet flavours to tobacco in order to get children to start smoking.
British American Tobacco (BAT), which sells brands such as Dunhill and Rothmans, admits it puts ingredients such as cocoa and liquorice into its products.
The company insists the flavourings are added to take away the harshness of the tobacco.
However, anti-smoking campaigners branded the policy a cynical attempt to boost sales.
The adding of sweet flavours to cigarettes came to light following laboratory tests on rats in Canada on 482 ingredients used by BAT.
BAT said the study was conducted to satisfy new rules laid down by the EU.
Information on the company’s website show it adds brown sugar, liquorice and cocoa extract to some of its products.
The company is also permitted to use apple juice, cinnamon bark oil, coffee extract, coriander seed oil, honey, prune extract, red rose oil and vanilla extract.
Ann Tradigo, a spokeswoman for BAT, said: “Ingredients are added but only in very, very minuscule quantities.
“They are added so the harshness of the tobacco is taken away but you can’t taste anything in the cigarettes.
“We have added ingredients to some of our cigarettes for years and the list of ingredients have been approved by governments around the world, including the UK.”
Amanda Sandford, research manager for UK-based ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), questioned the need to make cigarettes taste less harsh.
“They can’t be seen to market their products at children but if they want to stay in business they have to get children to smoke because existing smokers are trying to give up," she said.
“They have to find new ways to make their cigarettes taste nice and appealing because they have very few marketing opportunities.”
Health Minister Micheál Martin introduced regulations earlier this year which make it illegal to smoke in the workplace.
The move is being followed by some other European countries, with the issue currently the subject of much debate in the UK.
