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Mauritius: British minister flouts rules to greet BAT man

d.simpson@iath.org

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Health workers in Mauritius are accustomed to their government’s willingness to cosy up to BAT, the hugely dominant cigarette manufacturer in the local tobacco market, especially when the company lubricates the relationship with university education grants and other economic beads for the natives. But they felt a bitter disappointment recently to see the British government doing the same thing.

In March, newspapers carried cheery reports, complete with colour photographs, of the acting British High Commissioner attending a high profile reception organised by BAT to welcome its new general manager in Mauritius. Not only were those trying to protect the health of Mauritians sickened by yet more positive publicity for BAT, but they had every right to expect a boycott. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s guidelines for senior diplomats (quaintly termed "posts") clearly state, "Posts should not inter alia be associated in any way with the promotion of the tobacco . . . [Full text of this article]