We have reached an agreement with the government of Colombia, for example, which has dramatically reduced the proportion of their market taken by smugglers despite the long-standing tradition of smuggling many products that is endemic to parts of that country. However, where governments are not prepared to address the underlying causes of the problem, businesses such as ours who are engaged in international trade are faced with a dilemma. If the demand for our brands is not met, consumers will either switch to our competitors' brands or there will be the kind of dramatic growth in counterfeit products that we have recently seen in our Asian markets. Where any government is unwilling to act or their efforts are unsuccessful, we act, completely within the law, on the basis that our brands will be available alongside those of our competitors in the smuggled as well as the legitimate market. British American Tobacco group companies around the world are good and reliable taxpayers.
Governments are, and always have been, significant stakeholders in our business.
We are as aware as every member of the public that our products are often smuggled. Our business interests are damaged by the prevalence of smuggling. When governments and health campaigners are prepared to accept policies to reduce and control smuggling we will always welcome such policies and cooperate with them.