ISO 26000: Consumer Issues

Providingconsumer
information
The JT Group provides consumers
with detailed information about
its products, giving them theinformation necessary to makeconsidered purchase decisions.

32 | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | Consumer Issues

Being transparent about our products
The JT Group develops
relationships with its
consumers, providing
information thatbuilds trust.

Consumers today are faced with greatchoice. Making a purchasing decision is acomplex combination of factors, and the way
in which a company communicates regarding
its products is an integral part of enabling
consumers to make fully informed choices.

The JT Group informs and educatesconsumers in a transparent, responsible andproactive manner. This includes disclosing
ingredients on tobacco products, engaging
in dialogue, listening to customers’ needs
and responding openly to complaints andopinions.

The Group’s pharmaceutical businessdevelops, manufactures and markets
prescription drugs that are strictly regulated
and comply with the highest national andinternational standards. Additionally, internalsystems have also been established to ensure
safe, high-quality drugs.

To ensure the integrity of its beverages
and processed foods, the JT Group applies
rigorous quality processes. From the sourcing
of ingredients to the manufacture, packaging
and sale of food products, safety controls
and standards are observed at every stage.
On all products, ingredients are extensively
disclosed and traceability information
provided.

Consumer Issues | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | 33

Answering the call with an exemplary complainthandling service
Consumer Service Contact
Enhanced levels ofcommunication andaccessibility, and theopening of the new callcenter in June 2010,
have generated anincrease in contacts
over the past coupleof years.

Sylvain Beauchamp
Consumer Response Manager

Marie Poirier
Consumer Response Associate

The JT Group has established consumer/
customer complaint handling policies thatdefine a standard business process andprovide guidelines for addressing productquality-related complaints.
In Canada, JTI-Macdonald created an exemplary process of consumer
communications, which is a Company ‘best practice’ in proactively
managing complaints. From its Montreal factory in Quebec, theConsumer Response Team, headed by Sylvain Beauchamp, serves
JTI consumers in Canada with a fast, friendly and efficient handling34 | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | Consumer Issues

2009

2010

2011

2012

Complaint

1445

1745

2050

1995

Enquiry

774

1186

1627

1755

Feedback

222

541

1396

1481

Total Contacts

2441

3472

5073

5231

Suzanne Baron-Lafrenière
Consumer Response Associateof complaints. As Beauchamp explains: “We take consumer
complaints very seriously. We offer a quick, ‘hassle-free’ service that
demonstrates our commitment to satisfying our consumers, whether
they have a product issue or any other concern to report.”
JTI-Macdonald offers a 24-hour toll-free phone line, which is presentedon cigarette packages. The emphasis is a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week
personal response, offered in both English and French.
The first action following an initial conversation is for JTI to issue anAge Verification Form (AVF), which the consumer returns along withthe defective product. A five-step sequence of letters then follows,
sent directly to each consumer, to ensure they are fully satisfied with
JTI’s response to the complaint.

As well as responding efficiently, the team also uses consumer
complaints to help address any production issues, as Beauchamp
explains: “We provide real-time response to our quality control
department in the factory, identifying problems that may be systemic
within the production process.”
The Consumer Response channel in Canada plans further optimizationof services by expanding into online complaints/commentssubmissions. An enhanced online consumer response portal will belaunched in the summer of 2013, allowing the team to respond using
every available consumer communication channel.

Disclosing ingredients
information voluntarily

Ensuring only adults gain accessto tobacco products
Despite the fact that minors are legally prohibitedfrom smoking in many countries, underagesmoking remains a societal problem. It is best
addressed collectively with parents, educational
institutions, governments and the tobacco
industry, each playing a particular role. The JT
Group abides by laws and regulations and its
own international standards in relation to youth
smoking prevention. Additionally, it establishedprograms and operational policies that focus on
preventing youths from purchasing tobacco.

Ingredients website

The JT Group voluntarily provides
comprehensive information about theingredients in its tobacco products. Thistransparency is in response to consumers’demands to know what ingredients are usedin the brands they smoke. On its websites,
detailed lists of ingredients can be found,
categorized by tobacco product type, brandand location, with full inventories of key
materials and ingredients, as well as quantity
levels within the product. The websites
include information on cigarette papers,filtration materials, adhesives, inks andflavorings of cigarettes, Roll-Your-Own (RYO)and Make-Your-Own (MYO) products.

The ‘taspo’ ID card system
Since 2008, cigarette vending machines inJapan have been required to incorporate adultidentification functionality. The ‘taspo’ ID card
system is one such example, an initiative jointly
undertaken by the tobacco industry with JT
taking a major role, and the vending machineassociation. ID cards are issued following thesubmission of official documentation for approval,
which must contain the name, date of birth andcurrent address of the applicant. The aim is toprove that smokers who wish to use vending
machines are at least 20 years old. A photo is also
printed on the ID card to prevent improper use,such as lending the card to other people, notably
minors. As of March 31 2013, almost all of the299,455 tobacco vending machines in Japan wereequipped with the ‘taspo’ ID card reader. To date,over ten million ID cards have been issued.

Japanese cigarette vending
machine with the ‘taspo’ adultidentification function

Consumer Issues | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | 35

Providing professional assistance within thepharmaceutical sector
The JT Group’s pharmaceutical business endeavors to create worldclass innovative drugs. In doing so, it ensures a high degree ofdiscipline, responsibility and ethical practice from those employees
who are engaged in dealing with the healthcare industry.
Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of JT, manufacturesand distributes prescription drugs in Japan. To help the medical
profession prescribe drugs safely, the Company has appointed Medical
Representatives (MRs) to deliver information to health workers
concerning the quality, effectiveness and possible side-effects ofprescription drugs.
In addition, MRs collect information on drug performance, which isanalyzed, evaluated and conveyed back to the medical community.
This enhances the effectiveness of medications through a cycle ofcontinuous information-sharing. MRs help maintain the proper usage
and safety of the drugs that are manufactured and marketed.
Torii Pharmaceutical requires newly-appointed MR employees toundergo a six-month introductory training program, designed toprovide them with the basic medical and pharmacological knowledge,
information on relevant national drug legislation and regulations,
MR ethics, and detailed information pertaining to the Company’s
pharmaceutical products .
Follow-up training sessions are provided on an ongoing basis to further
develop their medical and pharmacological knowledge in accordancewith advancement in medical science and pharmacology, and changes
in relevant national drug legislation and regulations.

36 | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | Consumer Issues

Prioritizing safety control in the beverage andprocessed food businesses
Food communication
The ISO 10002 complaint management
system creates a means for consumers
to dialogue with the beverage andprocessed food businesses, to express
issues regarding its products. Other
communication methods include
providing traceability information and thedisclosure of ingredients on its products.

Food quality control

The JT Group’s food businesses
manufacture products thatmeet the highest standards ofquality and safety.
To ensure that consumers enjoy its products
safely, the JT Group has implemented foodsafety measures and established independent
food safety management divisions withineach of its beverage and processed foodbusinesses, with four distinct approaches inplace:
Food safety
The JT Group reviews product-specificfood safety, and conducts inspections andaudits based on detailed risk information. It

ensures the correct operation of food safety
management systems, consistent withstandards such as ISO 22000.
Food defense
The Group promotes a Risk ManagementIntegrated Program that adheres to risk
management policies and procedures.
The program incorporates knowledge via
management systems, security in the formof appropriate hardware and standards
compliance with factory checks and audits.
Food quality
Quality management systems arecoordinated across the entire supply chain.
Consumer satisfaction, and consequently
product value, is enhanced by constantly
improving products based upon feedback
from consumers.

Promoting crossfunctional safetycontrols
The JT Group promotes cross-functional
food product safety controls. For
example, TableMark’s Tokyo Quality
Control Center analyzes raw materials
and finished goods for the beveragebusiness.
Additionally, the beverage andprocessed food businesses benefit fromassessments and advice from external
food safety experts, incorporating
opinions and knowledge into its foodsafety controls.

Communicating withconsumers
As part of its food communication initiatives,
the JT Group’s beverage and processed foodbusinesses provide information on products
and ingredients in accordance with relevantlaws and regulations and information that isabove and beyond what is required by law.
In addition to the information provided on
the JT Group websites, toll-free numbers areprovided on product labels to give consumers
the opportunity to request additional
information. The in-house team responds
directly to these inquiries. For example, on
the packaging of its frozen food products
and website, TableMark discloses the factory
where products are manufactured and theorigin of the main ingredients. The Company
also provides consumers with traceability
information on its website for some of its
packed cooked rice, which includes specificdata on where the rice was grown, the factoryof manufacture, production dates and details
relating to suppliers.

Consumer Issues | JT Group - CSR Report 2013 | 37