Death Marketing-1

BATB Using CSR to Promote Itself on National Newspaper

Tobacco companies, responsible for 126,000 deaths every year, are now using their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as a pretense to hide their hideous death trade from policymakers. The installation of the last span of Padma Bridge was a historic moment for the people of Bangladesh. Multinational tobacco company, British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) managed to take advantage of such a moment of pride. In order to draw the attention of policymakers, the company promoted its CSR program titled Banayan covering half of the front page of an influential national daily. The company has long been claiming that through Banayan, it has emerged as a development partner of the government in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Such a claim is ironic since every year 2.9 million trees are cut down to provide fuel for tobacco curing (The Daily Prothom Alo, 31 May 2011). Under this light, these pretentious CSR activities must be stopped through a time-fitting amendment of Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Law, 2005 to end all sorts of CSR programs of tobacco companies.