We are grateful to learn of the deep concern in BAT about unauthorised use of Web 2.0 social media platforms to promote BAT tobacco products and its rules for its employees, agents and service providers that no company or product promotions should appear on these [1]. We are rather amused to learn though, that despite the vast resources of BAT, it seeks understanding from critics that the task of locating such sites is daunting.

We have had no difficulty in finding many instances of BAT tobacco products being promoted on the web and find the call by Ms Murphy for understanding of the difficulties involved in locating these somewhat disingenuous. We would suggest she try a Google search (www.google.com). Our Facebook project Monitoring Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship currently has 745 members (see www.facebook.com/MonitoringTobaccoAdvertising). We have put out a call to these members to assist BAT in finding these rogue examples. Ms Murphy might like to join our Facebook page to learn about these more swiftly than her apparently stretched company resources currently permit.

Here is just one example of what we found in a nanosecond of searching this morning. In June, 2009 BAT purchased an 85% stake in Bentoel, the fourth largest kretek manufacturer in Indonesia [2] and the remaining shares in August [3]. Bentoel brands include Bentoel, Star Mild and X Mild and Country. Star Mild has a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/STAR- MILD/30203449795), founded by PT Lestari Putra Wirasejati, a cigarette manufacturing subsidiary of Bentoel. BAT has probably been very busy and omitted to take down the site under its new commitment to forbidding such sites.

YouTube is also awash with ads, some of obvious high resolution and others copies, of Bentoel products (eg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCTvhRlcKpc). YouTube management is highly responsive to complaints about unauthorised use of material, so we can assure Ms Murphy that her concern to see YouTube emptied of such examples will soon be a reality after she begins to take action.

Simon Chapman Becky Freeman

1. Murphy M. Rapid response to: British American Tobacco on Facebook: undermining article 13 of the global World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Tobacco Control tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2010/04/14/tc.2009.032847.full/reply#tobaccocontrol_el_3404 2. www.tobaccoasia.com/previous-issues/industry-spotlight/53-industry-q3- 09/94-bat-buys-bentoel.html 3. www.alacrastore.com/company-snapshot/PT_Rajawali_Corporation-4371825

Conflict of Interest:

None declared

With respect to the recent article by Freeman et al. (Tobacco Control doi:10.1136/tc.2009.032847), I would like to make clear it's absolutely not our policy to use social networking sites such as Facebook to promote our tobacco product brands. To do so could breach local advertising laws and our own International Marketing Standards, which apply to our companies everywhere.

Social media and other types of user-generated content sites are growing at a phenomenal rate. Because of this, earlier this year we reminded our employees, agencies and service providers of our long-standing rules, to ensure that they were in no doubt about their existing obligations and responsibilities as they apply to this relatively new and growing medium.

Our rules mean that employees, agents and service providers cannot freely and on their own initiative post advertising material, in whole or part, on social networking sites, blog sites, chat forums or other user-generated content sites such as You Tube, whatever the intention in posting the material may be. The web is vast and constantly changing, and no company can continuously police it. Things can happen there that we simply don't know about. However, we can work hard to ensure that our rules on internet use are understood and applied by our own people and contractors, and we are doing so.

This report raises concerns that we share, and to that extent it helps us. However its scope is very broad, and the report itself points to the importance of distinguishing between personal and commercial content on the web. Our people are, of course, free to use sites such as Facebook in their private lives or to take part in business forums such as career networking, provided this excludes anything that could be viewed as tobacco product advertising.

Nonetheless, the report has drawn to our attention some specific instances which "if they have involved any of our employees or service providers" would certainly be wrong and should not have happened. We are investigating these and if we find that Group employees or service providers have posted material that they shouldn't, perhaps out of naivety, we will be telling them to remove it.

Conflict of Interest:

None declared