Reference: FOI-488976108
Date of request: 20/02/2023
Title of request: Contacts with tobacco industry

Dear Raouf Alebshehy,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request.

I can confirm that this will be reviewed and allocated to the appropriate
service area for response.

You will receive a further acknowledgement once your request has been
allocated.

Kind regards
Sandwell Council

Sandwell Council...working for you

[1]www.sandwell.gov.uk

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For your information residents can now use their MySandwell account to log
many Sandwell Council requests online, including reporting missed
collections; fly tipping and pot holes. Residents can also check their
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personalised homepage. For information please go to
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References

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Hi
Estate Services have not had any contact or hold information related to tobacco companies.

Kind Regards

Bryan Low
Estate Services Manager

T: 0121 569 6413
E: [email address]

Sandwell Council
Council House
Oldbury
B69 3DE
W: www.sandwell.gov.uk

show quoted sections

Reference: FOI-488976108
Date of request: 20/02/2023
Title of request: Contacts with tobacco industry
Information request:

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

Dear Raouf Alebshehy,

Freedom of Information request –FOI-488976108 Contacts with Tobacco
Companies

Dear Sir or Madam,

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.

 Having considered your request, we have provided the following returns:

•       Tobacco company or representative’s name

JTI

Attest UK Ltd (representative of Philip Morris)

ITL (representative of Imperial Tobacco)

•       Date of contact(s)

August 2021: Three separate contacts made with each of the above
companies.

September 2021: Two separate contacts made to all three of the above
companies making six in total.

October 2021: Four separate contacts were made, two to JTI, one with
Attest UK Ltd (representative of Philip Morris) and one with ITL
(representative of Imperial Tobacco).

February 2023: Three separate contacts made with each of the above
companies.

•       Type of contact (meeting, email, letter, phone call, text/app
message or video call, e-card or any other form of electronic
communication)

All contacts were by letter with accompanying tobacco product sample

•       Place of contact, if relevant

N/A

•       Purpose of contact

The purpose of the contacts was to ascertain whether the samples of
tobacco sent were genuine or counterfeit.

•       Outcome of contact, including if no action taken.

 

All the samples were confirmed as counterfeit.

 

We hope our response fully satisfies your expectations. However, if you
are dissatisfied, you are entitled to an Internal Review.

Internal review requests should be submitted within 40 days of the date of
receipt of this correspondence.

Please submit your review request through your account
[1]https://my.sandwell.gov.uk/

If you are not content with the outcome of our internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

 Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 Yours sincerely

 

Trading Standards

Citizen & Consumer Protection – Business

Kind regards
Sandwell Council

Sandwell Council...working for you

[2]www.sandwell.gov.uk

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

[3]Facebook    [4]Twitter   [5]YouTube

For your information residents can now use their MySandwell account to log
many Sandwell Council requests online, including reporting missed
collections; fly tipping and pot holes. Residents can also check their
council tax balance on MyAccounts and find "MyNearest" on their
personalised homepage. For information please go to
[6]www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell.

References

Visible links
1. https://my.sandwell.gov.uk/
2. http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/
3. https://www.facebook.com/sandwellcouncil
4. https://twitter.com/sandwellcouncil
6. http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell