This page links to more information about the Smokefree Coalition taking British American Tobacco (BAT) to the Commerce Commission on the basis of what are believed to be two instances of deliberate commercial misinformation; namely, statements on the BAT web site that suggest second-hand smoking has not been proven to be harmful, and "light" and "mild" brands being marketed as being safer than regular brands.

It is our contention that each of these practices contravenes the Fair Trading Act 1986.

• Our letter of complaint to the Commerce Commission is available here (PDF, 109Kb)
• Our media release regarding the complaint to the Commerce Commission is available here (PDF, 40Kb)
• Our document: Making the Tobacco Industry accountable for misleading statements – Information for the public is available here (PDF, 51 Kb).

Show your support

The Smokefree Coalition invites anyone interested to support its complaint to the Commerce Commission by writing to them at the following address:

The Commerce Commission
Contact Centre
PO Box 2351
WELLINGTON

contact@comcom.govt.nz

We have also produced a sample letter for you to use or base your own response on. You can request a copy of this letter in WORD format from Mark Peck, the Director of The Smokefree Coalition, by using the feedback form on our contacts page.