TRANSCRIPT: WHO S IN CONTROL? An express train thunders past. INSIDE The carriage is empty, except for three people sitting at a table. All are smartly dressed. So what will you be saying at the conference? Well, we need to be doing more about unhealthy lifestyles. Especially smoking Cut the number of people smoking? Yes, and I m proposing that we double the tax on cigarettes Hit smokers where it hurts in their pockets. If your Finance Minister agrees He will. The government needs all the money it can get. But a sharp price increase COULD encourage more smuggling. That s not my department. Our job is to stop people smoking. We see a limousine with darkened windows make its way along down-market streets. INSIDE Inside, three people are in discussion. OK. We ve got a little over an hour before we meet the Boss. I think we should use the time to explore business opportunities. So tell me what you know. I know it s very good when governments put up the tax on cigarettes. It is good for the economy. Whose economy? Mine. A European street. People are furtively selling cigarettes. Money and cigarettes change hands, people look over their shoulders So sales are good for you? Better than good. The higher the taxes, the more I sell. And the more money you make.
Yeah. But some of my people on the streets, they want a bigger cut. Which means they could cause you some trouble? No problem. All it takes is a bit of persuasion. We show them that what they get is good enough. A stairwell, thugs are beating up another man. My government is going to ban displays of cigarettes in stores. Good. Make cigarettes more difficult to buy. Out of sight out of mind. Do you really think so? Of course, why wouldn t it work? I just think if people want cigarettes, they will find them. Maybe some will, but we predict a change in consumer buying habits. But how do we know this will make people quit smoking or not even start smoking? Think of the generation of children growing up without seeing cigarettes on the shelf. In Canada go into a store where are the cigarettes? You can t see them. The law says they must be out of sight Bad news? No, not at all. Cigarette? She holds a clear plastic zip-lock bag of 200 cigarettes and offers him one. What s this? A baggie. So you pay $10 for twenty legal or you pay $10 for my baggie of 200. What do you think people buy? Interesting packaging My government is thinking about plain packaging. No branding on cigarette packs at all, just the name, so small you can hardly see it I like it. Take away the colours and logos and fewer people will want to buy them
Well, that s the theory anyway. It s got to be worth a try. Plain packs easier for us to copy. No logos to match, no gold inks, no special cardboard. Nothing to hold you back, eh? No, nothing. Cheaper to counterfeit, lots more profit. And anyway, a lot of my other products are unbranded Inside a dirty flat. Drug-taking paraphernalia lies on the floor. A woman appears to be unconscious. You re hard. I ve got a business to run and I run it my way. You re a lot like the boss. In my country, I am the boss. Our department wants to buy the use of all the ingredients in cigarettes. If you change the taste, more people might want to quit, right? Exactly. The boss will want to know what type of cigarettes you make. All kinds. Whatever people want. People are happy to buy from me if they get the taste they want. There s money in all of it. So money is important to you. It is everything. You like the trappings. Big house? Fine car? That doesn t interest me. So what does? You ask a lot of questions.
The Boss likes to know who he s dealing with. Let s just say I am a patron. I invest. A bag of nails being emptied onto a table. Someone putting circuits together. A car exploding. And you? I have my interests. People being put into the back of lorries. Streetwalkers. So, it s looking good. But do you really think we can make a difference? Well I don t know about you, but our ban on smoking inside in public places, cigarette company sales went down by about 4%, proof our policies are working. Perhaps. I m just not convinced? Look, why shouldn t our new proposals work? Give me one good reason why not? The limo enters a large warehouse full of shipping containers. All three emerge from the car. Here we are. You might be interested in these. We sell these at half the legal retail price. Not bad. No. Not bad making each container worth a million dollars in profit All these are full? What do you think? The question is, do you want on board? On the terms we discussed? I don t think so. Let s go meet your boss. I will tell him MY terms. You already have. Luke takes out a gun then points it at Andrei and shoots him in the chest.
The black market in cigarettes is worth billions of dollars worldwide It is increasingly dominated by organised crime. Law enforcers say some gangs are also behind people, weapons and drug trafficking. Some have terrorist links. Measures including display bans and plain packaging could increase illicit trade. Only the criminals benefit Who s in control? Smoking is a cause of serious diseases so we agree that tobacco products should be regulated appropriately. Find out more on www.bat.com These events and people are fictional and any resemblance to person living or dead is purely coincidental. British American Tobacco (Holdings) Limited, 2010. All rights reserved.