Tobacco Firms Add Sweeteners 'To Hook Youngsters'
 3 June, 2004

LONDON 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 in the UK, 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 Lucky Strike and Lucky Strike Lights sold in the UK.

Rothmans Royal 120 include brown sugar among the ingredients.

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 ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), questioned the need to make cigarettes taste less harsh.

“Why do they feel it necessary?,” she asked. “What they are trying to do is make the product more appealing in whatever way they can.

“If they were produced using just plain tobacco and cigarette papers they would taste harsh and people would smoke fewer of them.

“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 .

“They have to find new ways to make their cigarettes taste nice and appealing because they have very few marketing opportunities.”

She also criticised industry-funded research into the safety of additives.

“This whole business highlights the need for much more regulation,” said Ms Sandford. “We would like an independent regulatory body to monitor this research.”

About 12 million adults in the UK smoke cigarettes – 27% of men and 25% of women.
proximately one fifth of Britain’s 15 year-olds – 18% of boys and 26% of girls – are regular smokers – despite the fact it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children aged under 16.

Every year, around 114,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit.