The new director of British American Tobacco received a wide media coverage BUT

In the name of the Mauritian families grieved by the premature loss of one or more of their beloved members and friends, due to tobacco related painful diseases and deaths;

In the name of half of the children in Mauritius that are born and grow up in a polluted toxic tobacco smoke atmosphere at home;

Association ViSa, committed to a tobacco-free Mauritius, does not welcome M. Jim Mc Cormick, the new general manager of British American Tobacco in Mauritius.

The real “challenge” of that newcomer is to make BAT thrive financially at the expense of the health and wealth of Mauritians that get trapped by the highly addictive and lethal drug product of the tobacco industry.

More than 800 Mauritians die every year, killed by cigarettes.

British American Tobacco has 15.4% of the global market share of cigarettes in the world, meaning that BAT products kill 754,000 human beings annually from tobacco-related diseases. According to you and to the tobacco industry, “smoking is an adult choice”. The fact is that 90% of smokers start smoking before the age of 18, so how can smoking be an adult choice?

The tobacco industry and its friends and partners are responsible for the tobacco epidemic that kills 5 million persons each year in the world.

Véronique Le Clézio