uk bat.com - Youth smoking prevention

Our companies run or support programmes to tackle youth smoking
Our companies run or support programmes to tackle youth smoking

We believe that tobacco products are only suitable for adult consumers and we do not want children to smoke.

We fully support laws and regulations prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the legal minimum age in their country. We also believe that enforcement and penalties for breaking such laws must be tough enough to discourage anybody from selling to the under age.  

We also know how important it is that our marketing practices should not undermine efforts to combat under age smoking. 

That’s why our companies abide by our strict International Marketing Principles which are globally consistent and demonstrate our commitment to marketing appropriately and only to adult tobacco consumers. 

A global approach

We require all our Group companies to:

  • engage with governments to establish a minimum age law of 18 where none exists; and
  • raise retailers’ awareness of minimum age laws in their country.

Our activities

Typically our companies around the world work with retailers, a front-line in the battle against under age smoking.

We run or support programmes which include proof-of-age schemes, eye-catching signs clearly stating sales will not be made to the under age, and training to help shop staff spot under age buyers and refuse to sell to them.

To help identify and promote best practice certain key markets are also required to use third parties to measure the effectiveness of their youth smoking prevention activities.  In fact, we encourage all our markets to measure their youth smoking prevention effectiveness where they can.

We recognise that it is not always appropriate for us to play a role in youth smoking prevention outside of the retail environment. However, in a few countries, with the support of interested parties, we are also involved in educational and advertising-based efforts to help discourage youth smoking. 

How we are doing

See Youth smoking prevention Opens in new window in our Sustainability data centre for the latest data about these programmes and minimum age laws around the world.