Contacts with tobacco industry
Dear colleagues,
I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please provide a list of any and all contact your organisation and/or staff have had with British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, as well as any other domestic or transnational tobacco companies or anyone representing the tobacco industry including subsidiaries of tobacco industry.
I would like this information for the period from 1 April 2021 to 20 February 2023.
Contact would primarily include attending or arranging meetings or functions, and responding to correspondence or phone calls.
Please break down the information by:
• Tobacco company or representative’s name
• Date of contact(s)
• Type of contact (meeting, email, letter, phone call, text/app message or video call, e-card or any other form of electronic communication)
• Place of contact, if relevant
• Purpose of contact
• Outcome of contact, including if no action taken
I request that the information be provided electronically. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and discuss the request, my details are outlined below.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Raouf Alebshehy
Thank you for contacting the FOI Team.
This is confirmation that we have received your email. You should receive
a further acknowledgment shortly with a reference number.
Due to the current coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic it is likely that there
will be an impact on information request response times. However we will
endeavour to keep you updated if there is a significant delay.
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The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
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[1]brentlogo1 (227×84) Tel: 020 89371234
Email: [email address]
Web: [2]https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
Dear Raouf Alebshehy
RE: Contacts with tobacco industry
Thank you for contacting the council on 20/02/2023.
Your case will be assigned to an officer and you should receive their
details soon.
Please use this reference number IRC-28091-S6Y7M3 when contacting us about
this case.
Please note that we may require further information in order for us to
proceed, in which case we will contact you.
If you would like further information on how your case will be dealt with,
please visit our website: [3]https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
Yours sincerely
London Borough of Brent
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The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.
References
Visible links
2. https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
3. https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
[1]brentlogo1 (227×84) Tel: 020 8937 5522
Email: [email address]
Web: [2]https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
Our Ref: IRC-28091-S6Y7M3
Dear Raouf Alebshehy
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your information request received on 20/02/2023 which is
being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
You requested the following information:
A list of any and all contact your organisation and/or staff have had with
British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International,
Philip Morris International, as well as any other domestic or
transnational tobacco companies or anyone representing the tobacco
industry including subsidiaries of tobacco industry.
I would like this information for the period from 1 April 2021 to 20
February 2023.
I can confirm that Brent Council holds the information you have requested
which I have set out for you below.
• Feb 2022 – samples from seizure sent to brand holder for examination
and witness statement – case investigation.
• Feb 2022 - samples from seizure sent to brand holder for examination
and witness statement – case investigation.
• April 2022 - Following consumer complaint – samples from consumer
complaint sent to brand holder for examination and witness statement –
case investigation.
• Sep 2022 - samples from seizure sent to brand holder for examination
and witness statement – case investigation.
• Sep 2022 – samples from seizure sent to brand holder for examination
and witness statement – case investigation.
• Oct 2022 – samples from seizure sent for sent for examination and
witness statement – case investigation
• Nov 2022 – samples from seizure sent for examination and witness
statement – case investigation
• Jan 2023 – brand holder contacting us checking outcome of their
examination
• Our contact with the tobacco companies typically relates to having
products examined to verify their authenticity following either a
complaint or seizure of goods. This contact would normally be in
writing with occasional telephone calls to check goods have been
received or to verify the contact/address to be used etc.
I hope this information is of assistance to you, please let me know if you
require any further assistance. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied
with the way in which your request has been handled or the outcome, you
may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of
this response by writing to the following address:
Freedom of Information
Brent Civic Centre
Engineers Way
Wembley
HA9 0FJ
[3][email address]
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or internal
review, you have a right to appeal directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted
at:
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 0303 123 1113
Website: [4]www.ico.org.uk
I will now close your request as of the date of this letter.
Yours sincerely
Simon Legg
Head of Regulatory Services
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.
References
Visible links
2. https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/
Our Ref: IRC-28091-S6Y7M3
Dear Raouf Alebshehy
Further to our response to your request for information dated 17 March
2023, we have since identified a couple of further communications which
took place in September 2021 and March 2022 that we missed off our
previous answers.
We have also noticed our reply incorrectly detailed correspondence dated
September 2022 and further, we omitted to detail which tobacco company our
communication was with as per your request.
I apologise for these errors and set out an updated response for your
information below:
· Sept 2021 - Reporting illegal nicotine inhaling products being
sold – British American Tobacco
· Oct 2021 - Responding to above report that information should be
send to regional intelligence unit as per Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control protocol – British American Tobacco
· Feb 2022 – Samples from seizure sent to brand holder for
examination and witness statement – case investigation - Japan Tobacco
International
· Feb 2022 - Samples from seizure sent to brand holder for
examination and witness statement – case investigation – Imperial
· Mar 2022 – Correspondence regarding examination - Imperial
· April 2022 - Following consumer complaint – samples from
consumer complaint sent to brand holder for examination and witness
statement – case investigation – Imperial
· June 2022 - Correspondence regarding examination – Imperial
· Oct 2022 – Samples from seizure sent for sent for examination
and witness statement – case investigation - Japan Tobacco International
· Nov 2022 – Samples from seizure sent for examination and witness
statement – case investigation - Japan Tobacco International
· Dec 2022 - Samples received back from examination - Japan
Tobacco International
· Jan 2023 – Contacting us checking outcome of their examination -
Japan Tobacco International
· Feb 2023 - Reporting lack of compliance from some products being
sold – Passed to regional intelligence unit as per Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control protocol – British American Tobacco
Once again, I am sorry that the information sent to you on 17 March 2023
was not complete. If there is any further help required, please let us
know.
Yours sincerely.
Simon Legg
Head of Regulatory Services
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The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.
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