0:00:02 > 0:00:04INHALING
0:00:09 > 0:00:14Cigarettes are the most lethal consumer product on the planet.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Every year, more than five million customers
0:00:16 > 0:00:18of the tobacco industry die.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22These are people who know that their success
0:00:22 > 0:00:27can be measured in millions of deaths.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30The more successful they are, the more people will die.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35In this series, we investigate how thousands of young people
0:00:35 > 0:00:38around the world are still taking up smoking every day.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42And recently, the numbers of 25- to 34-year-old smokers
0:00:42 > 0:00:44in the UK has increased.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48The reality is the vast majority of smokers start smoking as children.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53We see how powerful cigarette companies manipulate smokers
0:00:53 > 0:00:57and seduce the young - potential victims of the fatal addiction.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00They need children to start smoking to replace
0:01:00 > 0:01:02the smokers that they lose.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05We look at the industry's fight against increasing regulation
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and its last-ditch battle to prevent plain packaging,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12with gruesome health warnings replacing glossy images.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15We want to protect the next generation from
0:01:15 > 0:01:19the terrible consequences of smoking cigarettes.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22We travel to Australia, where the industry fought
0:01:22 > 0:01:24a ferocious battle against plain packaging
0:01:24 > 0:01:27to protect its last vital marketing tool.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30- I make the rules around here. - It was feral...
0:01:30 > 0:01:33So I'm going to remove all branding
0:01:33 > 0:01:35so every cigarette pack looks the same.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37..it was ferocious...
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Do as you're told!
0:01:38 > 0:01:40..they threw everything at it.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45For an industry under constant attack, it's in remarkable health.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49With eye-watering profits of more than £30 billion a year,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51the industry would appear to be winning.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55It's an extraordinary amount of money for an industry
0:01:55 > 0:01:59that was worth a tiny fraction of that 20 years ago,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and an industry that seemingly has been
0:02:01 > 0:02:04under threat for the last 50 years.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I've spent 40 years investigating how, in the past,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10the industry has dissembled and lied.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15But now we've been allowed inside the second-largest tobacco company
0:02:15 > 0:02:19in the world, British American Tobacco, to talk to its directors.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24I think that the future is about tobacco harm reduction, it's about
0:02:24 > 0:02:28providing a range of alternative nicotine products to consumers.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32We are indeed the problem. That is no reason for us
0:02:32 > 0:02:34not to be part of the solution.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Who finally wins the decisive battle over plain packaging
0:02:39 > 0:02:41has still to be decided.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47We're talking about young people and children,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and we have a duty of care to our young people.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Everyone knows that smoking kills,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04so why are young people still taking it up?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09I wondered what makes these teenagers
0:03:09 > 0:03:12leave the warmth of their classroom.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14THEY GIGGLE AND SHIVER
0:03:14 > 0:03:15BOY: It's too cold.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Is the cigarette your friend on a bitterly cold, stormy day like this?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Not really!
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It's horrible coming out in the wind and the weather
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and everything to have a smoke, but you need to do it, don't you? So...
0:03:29 > 0:03:31What's it like when you take your first drag?
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- When you're stressed, it's pretty nice.- Good, isn't it?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- Oh, yeah.- But when you wake up in the morning, it's quite horrible.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41It tastes disgusting when you wake up, but...
0:03:41 > 0:03:44But you come out here because you want a cigarette,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46why do you want a cigarette?
0:03:46 > 0:03:51- Just...- You need one! Yeah, I need one.- College is stressful, so...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Very stressful.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Makes you need 'em more and more.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59These three Manchester teenagers started smoking
0:03:59 > 0:04:02when they were 12 and 15.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Girls are now just as likely to smoke as boys.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09The reality is, the vast majority of smokers
0:04:09 > 0:04:11start smoking as children, before the age of 18,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and the products that are appealing to young adult smokers,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16that are glossy and attractive,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19are also very appealing to young teenagers.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23The tobacco industry insists it does not target children,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27but in the UK, there's a staggering statistic.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32Every year, 200,000 children aged between 11 and 15 start smoking.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36They need children to start smoking to replace
0:04:36 > 0:04:39the smokers that they lose.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Smokers can't fail to be aware of the health risks -
0:04:43 > 0:04:45they scream out from every packet.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48They're like pariahs,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51with fewer and fewer places where they can light up.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56MUSIC: "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes
0:04:56 > 0:05:00# Back and forth through my mind behind a cigarette... #
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Overall, the habit is slowly declining in the UK,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07but still around one in five adults smoke, as do many celebs.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10And smoking among 20- to 34-year-olds
0:05:10 > 0:05:13has actually increased in the last few years.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Despite constant attacks by the anti-tobacco lobby
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and government restrictions, the tobacco industry,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31unlike some of its customers, shows no sign of dying.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35When you've got a highly addictive product used by
0:05:35 > 0:05:39a very large number of people, it's a licence to print money.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45The tobacco industry sold around six trillion cigarettes last year.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48British American Tobacco - BAT -
0:05:48 > 0:05:51manufactures 700 billion cigarettes annually.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Its biggest factory is here in Germany.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00What first hits you when you enter the factory, apart from the noise
0:06:00 > 0:06:06and the smell of tobacco, is its sheer size and scale.
0:06:07 > 0:06:13These machines are churning out around 200 million cigarettes a day.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15It's really quite staggering.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21The industry's profits are even more staggering.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25It makes a great deal of money.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29The estimate for 2012 is that retail sales for the entire industry
0:06:29 > 0:06:34were almost three-quarters of a trillion dollars, and then
0:06:34 > 0:06:38the manufacturer profit from that is going to be north of 50 billion.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Ironically, nearly everyone's future is invested in tobacco.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Pension funds are addicted to it, including the BBC's.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51And Government is addicted, too.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Tobacco taxes bring in nearly twice the direct cost
0:06:55 > 0:06:58to the NHS of treating smoking-related diseases.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Tobacco remains the darling of the City.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It's held on to that position
0:07:07 > 0:07:10despite the premature deaths of millions
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and decades of attacks from governments and critics.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19My first encounter with a tobacco company was in 1975,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23when I confronted Imperial Tobacco's board at their AGM
0:07:23 > 0:07:26over its refusal to accept the medical evidence.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31'Sir John, I ask the question purely as a matter of public interest.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33'Out, out, out. Sit down.'
0:07:34 > 0:07:38British American Tobacco was the only tobacco company
0:07:38 > 0:07:41that opened its doors to us.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44BAT is in the London Stock Exchange's top ten.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48It makes no apology for what it does.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50We're running a successful business.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53It's a well-governed international business,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56it's a legal business, we have a legitimate right to operate.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02Isn't the paradox that your profits continue to increase
0:08:02 > 0:08:06despite everything that the Government
0:08:06 > 0:08:10and the anti-tobacco lobby has done to try and curb your activities?
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Well, we make profits and increase our profits
0:08:13 > 0:08:17because we also are responsive to the demands of our shareholders.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And remember, at the same time that we may have increased
0:08:20 > 0:08:22our share price and our profits,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25governments have also increased their excise take substantially.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30In fact, we pay something like £30 billion worth of excise
0:08:30 > 0:08:32to exchequers all over the world.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39So why, despite all the increasing regulations,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41are so many people still smoking?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Most people start before they are 18,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46almost half even before they're 16.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51With our three teenage smokers now back in the warmth,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I wanted to know why they smoke.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Molly, why did you start?
0:08:56 > 0:08:59All of my friends smoked, so I was like...a bit left out,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I had to stay inside while they smoked, so...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- it came social. - Do you think it's cool to smoke?
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I did at the start, I was like, "Oh, God, got a cigarette, I'm cool!"
0:09:10 > 0:09:14So we started socially smoking, and it just got more and more, and you
0:09:14 > 0:09:17found that when you did have a drink and stuff, you enjoyed a cigarette.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Ian, aren't you concerned about your health?
0:09:20 > 0:09:21You started smoking when you were 12,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24you're now smoking between 10 and 20 a day.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25I've never thought about it, really.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28I'm always trying to keep healthy and stuff.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Aren't you worried about getting lung cancer,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- heart disease, bronchitis... - Yeah, yeah.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35..in quite a few years' time?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Well, y-yeah, yeah! Yeah, but...
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- It's not going to happen to you? - I hope not anyway!
0:09:43 > 0:09:45You think, "Oh, that's not going to happen to me.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48"There's so many people out there smoking, why's it going to be me?"
0:09:48 > 0:09:51But I guess it always could be you, couldn't it?
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Cos you're doing the exact same thing as them.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Diane and John Marshall also started smoking in their teens.
0:10:01 > 0:10:07Yeah, yeah. That's in black and white, so it must have been 1963.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12A lifetime of smoking has taken a dreadful toll on both.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- That's me, look, smoking. - And you wish you'd never had it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I know, I do. I should have stopped smoking before anyway.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22We both should.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Diane started smoking in the 1960s, when she was 19.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I just wanted to be the same as everybody else.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Try it and see what it'd be like.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36And I enjoyed it, so I'll carry on smoking.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- How old were when you started smoking, John?- 14.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42'John used to be a long-distance lorry driver,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44'and he rolled his own.'
0:10:45 > 0:10:50- How many did you go on to smoke? - 100 a day when I were driving.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- 100 a day?!- 100 a day when I were driving.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I loved it. It was just summat to do.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58I really enjoyed it.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Did you ever worry about what your smoking 100 cigarettes a day
0:11:02 > 0:11:05might be doing to you?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I did. I'd only heard what everybody else said, like,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10"It'll kill you in t'end."
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I believe 'em now.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20After the Second World War, Britain became a smoker's paradise.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Three out of four men were puffing away,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and women were becoming addicted, too.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Even doctors were promoted as role models.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34INFOMERCIAL VOICEOVER: In this nationwide survey...
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Try camels yourself.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45There was a time when you could smoke any time,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47anywhere and everywhere.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50On trains...
0:11:52 > 0:11:53..on buses...
0:11:54 > 0:11:56..on planes...
0:11:58 > 0:12:00..and in offices.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05Cigarettes were glamorous, but the legacy was anything but -
0:12:05 > 0:12:09an awesome toll of death and disease.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19PARROT CHIRPS
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- What has smoking done to you? - Knackered me.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- Short of breath, angina... - Everything.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32HE BREATHES RAPIDLY You've got everything, haven't you?
0:12:32 > 0:12:37If I'd have known, I would have packed up a long, long while ago.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I wish I'd never, ever even seen a cigarette...
0:12:40 > 0:12:46- the amount of trouble I've had. - Who do you blame?- It's myself.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Can only blame myself.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55John suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -
0:12:55 > 0:12:59COPD - and he has a heart condition, too.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04Diane was diagnosed 13 years ago with a virulent form of lung cancer.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07She was given a year-and-a-half to live.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13What was your reaction when you were told that you had lung cancer?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17I didn't really know what to say or what to do,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I just wanted to go in a room on me own and scream.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25"Well, it can't be me. It can't have happened to me."
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- But I still carried on smoking. - You carried on smoking?- Yeah.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35- After you'd been diagnosed with lung cancer?- Yeah.- Why?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38- Cos I liked a cigarette, that were it.- And today?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Diagnosed with it again, I THINK.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Sadly, it's now been confirmed that Diane has lung cancer again,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51and she's undergone radiotherapy.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Every day, her consultant at Nottingham University Hospital
0:13:56 > 0:13:59sees patients who are victims of the world's biggest
0:13:59 > 0:14:02preventable cause of death and disease.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05That coughing you had a minute ago, was that hurting your chest
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- when you did that? - Yeah. Oh, yeah.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10What does it feel like?
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Like a knife in me, you know when you breathe? Yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Yeah.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20The biggest killers in the UK are lung cancer,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease -
0:14:24 > 0:14:28these are all smoking-related, and they're the common things.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31We've also got lots of other cancers. For example, throat cancer,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35smoking-related, and then things like peripheral vascular disease,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39which is where the arteries in your legs fur up with atheroma
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and they block off, and you can lose your legs.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Now, this is the left upper lobe...
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Nearly 40 years ago, the message from doctors was the same.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00This is a cigarette smoker's lung.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Statistics mean people, and here they are.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Buckets and buckets. This is the work of a hospital.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Buckets and buckets...of lung cancer.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And all these would have been preventable?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19All these would have been preventable.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23When I was first making documentaries about smoking
0:15:23 > 0:15:26in the 1970s, this was my bible,
0:15:26 > 0:15:31the report of the Royal College of Physicians of 1962.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35It said that smoking is a cause of lung cancer, bronchitis
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and probably heart disease.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42It went on to say that around 50,000 people every year in this country
0:15:42 > 0:15:45die from these smoking-related diseases.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Today, that number has doubled.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54The Royal College of Physicians' current expert on smoking
0:15:54 > 0:15:57is also a consultant at the same hospital,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00treating the victims of smoking every day.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Those people lose an average of ten years of life, healthy life.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08That is a huge toll of entirely avoidable disability and death.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13But that disability is now concentrated down in the poorest
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and most disadvantaged in society.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18The very most neglected
0:16:18 > 0:16:23and marginalised from our society are where the smoking is now happening.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It's in areas like this part of Derbyshire,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36only a few miles from the hospital, that smoking rates are highest.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40How would you describe this area?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43This is a mixed council estate,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45it's one of the most deprived areas in Derbyshire.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50- And what are the smoking rates here? - About 50% of the adult population.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54There's these pockets of deprivation
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and linked in with that deprivation are these high levels of smoking.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00And it's sucking a large amount of the little money they have
0:17:00 > 0:17:03out of these areas.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08For decades, the industry told barefaced lies
0:17:08 > 0:17:11about the growing medical evidence.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15They were exposed 20 years ago when tobacco's senior executives
0:17:15 > 0:17:18gave evidence before the United States Congress.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Raise your right hand.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?- ALL:- Yes.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29The chief executives of the world's major tobacco companies
0:17:29 > 0:17:33stood up in front of Congress and basically lied
0:17:33 > 0:17:36about the addictiveness and harm of their products.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Yes or no, do you believe nicotine is not addictive?
0:17:39 > 0:17:41I believe nicotine is not addictive.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44And they lied, knowing that they were lying...
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I believe nicotine is not addictive.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49I believe that nicotine is not addictive.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52..and deliberately, I think, misleading people.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56I believe that nicotine is not addictive.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59And I, too, believe that nicotine is not addictive.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04It's a long journey back from making that kind of statement publicly
0:18:04 > 0:18:07to being trusted and respected by the public,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and especially the public health community.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Such attempts to conceal the truth also had a profound effect
0:18:14 > 0:18:16on the lives of millions,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20and, ironically, those who worked in the industry, too.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Brian Jackson started his first job 40 years ago
0:18:25 > 0:18:27when he joined Gallaher's,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30the makers of Benson & Hedges in the UK, and Silk Cut.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36So, the first day I joined, I'm sat round the meeting table,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and we have a sales training manager at the end,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43and he pushes, in front of each one of us, a 200 pack of Silk Cut.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46And I pushed them away and said, "I'm sorry, I don't smoke."
0:18:46 > 0:18:50He said, "Brian, you can't work for us if you don't smoke."
0:18:50 > 0:18:52So I had the cigarettes.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55So that's how I started smoking.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59So, within no time at all, I'm smoking 50 to 60 cigarettes a day.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03MACHINE WHIRS
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Brian Jackson used to start his day with a cigarette.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14He now starts it with an endless cocktail of drugs
0:19:14 > 0:19:17he needs just to be able to breathe.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Brian has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23the result of a lifetime of smoking.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29My daughter, from the age of about five or six, used to say to me,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32"Oh, Daddy, I wish you wouldn't smoke."
0:19:32 > 0:19:35And she came home one day and said, "Daddy, I don't want you to die."
0:19:35 > 0:19:37But even...
0:19:37 > 0:19:42being told that by a five- to six-year-old child
0:19:42 > 0:19:46doesn't necessarily, to a hardened smoker,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48have any effect.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Brian had become a habitual smoker by 1980,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57the year I went to Brazil and interviewed BAT's local director.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Do you believe that cigarette smoking is harmful to health?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05As you know, I'm not a medical man,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09and therefore I cannot offer medical opinion,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I would be incompetent to offer medical opinion on that question.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Are you saying you don't know?
0:20:15 > 0:20:17That is exactly what I'm saying.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Today, British American Tobacco has a very different view.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Do you believe that cigarette smoking is harmful to health?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Absolutely, and British American Tobacco is clear about that.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Why did you deny it for so many years?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Well, I can't speak about the past. I'd like to talk about now. I...
0:20:39 > 0:20:43No, no, the past... One of your issues is trust.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The reason why your industry is not trusted
0:20:46 > 0:20:49is because it lied about the medical evidence for so many years.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51The point is that that was then, and this is now.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54I'd prefer to talk about now, and the future.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57But you're...you're evading my question.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Until you accept that, why should people believe what you say now?
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Well, I think the key moment was the day that we came out
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and we admitted the link between smoking and health,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10and what I am most interested is plotting a pathway for this
0:21:10 > 0:21:13business over the next decades, over the next hundred years.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19For decades, "cancer" was the forbidden word
0:21:19 > 0:21:22in BAT's research labs in Southampton.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26The killer disease went by the secret codename "zephyr".
0:21:28 > 0:21:32BAT's current scientific director speaks a different language.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Hard truth has replaced deception and lies.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39So, this is a chart which lays out
0:21:39 > 0:21:43the 100 known toxicants in cigarette smoke.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45You're inhaling them into your lung,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48and that's why smoking represents such a risk to health.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Which are the carcinogens in that?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52So, the carcinogens would be substances like benzopyrene.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56There are things like cadmium, lead and mercury.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59It's unprecedented that a tobacco company
0:21:59 > 0:22:02now makes such a frank admission on television.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Cigarette smoking is a cause of real and serious diseases.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Cancer, particularly cancer of the lung, heart disease,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13so stroke and heart attack,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and respiratory disease such as bronchitis and emphysema,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and, for a lifetime smoker, about half of them can expect
0:22:19 > 0:22:23to die prematurely as a result of their cigarette smoking.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25The industry has changed,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28but only after decades of unrelenting pressure
0:22:28 > 0:22:33that has severely restricted their ability to market its product.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38# Yes, the taste is great in the filter tip Tareyton! #
0:22:38 > 0:22:43Advertising has always been the engine that drives cigarette sales,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47associating the product with anything but their lethal reality.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Satisfying, no flat filtered-out flavour,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and friendly. No dry, smoked-out taste.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I smoke Kent cigarettes.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Why don't you get yourself a carton and try them? Thank you.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Looking back, there was a time, half a century ago,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08when Piccadilly Circus was lit up with cigarettes.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12For many years, advertising, promotion and sponsorship
0:23:12 > 0:23:16were the industry's seductive weapon to associate smoking
0:23:16 > 0:23:21with something that was desirable, glamorous and sexy.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25But those days are now long gone, as governments have turned the screw
0:23:25 > 0:23:27tighter and tighter on tobacco.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34In the '60s, advertising cigarettes on TV was banned.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38In the '70s, the Government introduced health warnings on packs.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41In the last 20 years, the battle has intensified.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Most forms of tobacco advertising in print, on billboards,
0:23:45 > 0:23:51and in cinemas, like this iconic Benson & Hedges ad, were prohibited.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Sponsorship of sporting and cultural events was banned.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Smoking was forbidden in offices, restaurants, pubs
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and all enclosed public places,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and bigger warnings with gruesome pictures
0:24:05 > 0:24:07were put on cigarette packs.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Everyone of these measures was fiercely contested
0:24:09 > 0:24:11by the tobacco industry.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The cigarette companies, I think they've long seen themselves
0:24:14 > 0:24:18as being in a form of trench warfare, that you fight as long as you can
0:24:18 > 0:24:20in the trench you're in before you retreat to the next trench,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24because you know that they're simply going to keep coming at you.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30Despite all these restrictions, the industry has continued to thrive.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34But now it faces its biggest battle in decades
0:24:34 > 0:24:37to avoid being stripped of its last vestige of marketing,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41with glossy branded packs being replaced with plain
0:24:41 > 0:24:43or standardised packs.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53That battle started four years ago.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Australia has the most stringent anti-smoking legislation
0:24:58 > 0:25:01of any country anywhere in the world.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04But it's only the result of a long and fierce battle
0:25:04 > 0:25:06with the tobacco industry.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09I've come to Australia to see how the latest battle
0:25:09 > 0:25:13over plain packaging was fought and won.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21This is picture-postcard Australia - sun, sea, sand and surf.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25The healthy outdoor life on smoke-free Bondi Beach.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28These children, aged between 12 and 14,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33are training to be Bondi Beach's next generation life-savers.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- Any of them smokers?- No.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39- Any of them likely smokers?- No. - Why do you say that?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I think they've grown up in a culture of anti-smoking.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47They just wouldn't even dream of it. I couldn't name one person in the club that smokes, actually.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Smokers in Australia are now an ostracised minority.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54A year-and-a-half ago,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58glossy packages were consigned to the dustbin of history.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Go into any newsagent's
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and you'll find cigarettes hidden away behind closed doors.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Few have seen the change more closely
0:26:08 > 0:26:10than those who sell cigarettes,
0:26:10 > 0:26:11people like Gerard Munday,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14who runs a convenience store in Melbourne.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Show us in the cabinet, yeah.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23As you can see, it's all pretty dull and boring.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- That's the intention, isn't it? - That's the intention, I think, yes.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30When you see it like that, as a display, it's quite confronting.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34So, do you prefer "damages your gums and teeth"
0:26:34 > 0:26:36to "peripheral vascular disease"?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39You pick - which one would you like?! HE CHUCKLES
0:26:39 > 0:26:41I think I'll... I think I'll give it a pass!
0:26:43 > 0:26:46As you may know, cigarettes have been linked to cancer,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50addiction, emphysema, heart disease and premature death.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52As a result, we, at my tobacco company,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54are introducing a total product recall.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57All of our product will be withdrawn from sale,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59wherever it is in Australia,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02until we can guarantee that it poses absolutely no threat
0:27:02 > 0:27:03to your health,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06because if there's one thing we care about here,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- it's your health. - HE LAUGHS RAUCOUSLY
0:27:08 > 0:27:10The Cancer Council of Victoria was one of those
0:27:10 > 0:27:13who led the charge for plain packaging.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Well, this is the Marlboro brand...
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Prof Melanie Wakefield provided the crucial data for the legislation,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25and is now doing a follow-up study for the Australian government.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27..in 1995, in Australia,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31but this is how they are now, under plain packaging.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36Plain packs are specifically designed to be as unattractive as possible.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39The main purpose of plain packaging is to encourage young people
0:27:39 > 0:27:42not to start smoking, to avoid taking it up.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Although it's admittedly early days, I went to St Kilda's,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51a local Melbourne youth club,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54to see how its young members see plain packaging.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Neil, what does that pack say to you?
0:28:01 > 0:28:04That a child is struggling with their breathing
0:28:04 > 0:28:08- because of second-hand smoke.- Do you think these warnings are effective?
0:28:08 > 0:28:10- Do they put you off? - Yep. It's disgusting.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Do you think it's a good idea to have those kind of warnings
0:28:13 > 0:28:16and photographs on cigarette packets?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19It's definitely good, but some people just, you know,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22they don't care.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Plain packaging has been a crushing blow.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29The industry desperately tried to kill the legislation.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33It was feral, it was ferocious.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37This was the fiercest reaction from the tobacco industry
0:28:37 > 0:28:41to anything that I've seen in about 40 years of work on tobacco.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44They threw everything at it.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48I make the rules around here,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50so I'm going to remove all branding
0:28:50 > 0:28:52so every cigarette pack looks the same.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54The ad had a target,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57the Health Minister who proposed the legislation.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Do as you're told.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01What did they say about you?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Oh, all the normal sort of nanny state, Nanny Nicola,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07erm, overregulation, all those sorts of arguments.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Stop plain packaging legislation.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Stop this nanny state.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14It seemed clear to me that there weren't many mothers around.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Nannies are fundamentally a good thing in my world!
0:29:17 > 0:29:21And if that's the worst that someone's going to say about my time in politics,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24I'm absolutely happy to wear that as a badge of honour.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Contact your Member of Parliament at NoNannyState.com.au.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30'Authorised by Imperial Tobacco Australia...'
0:29:30 > 0:29:35Aware that many in Australia saw tobacco as a discredited brand,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38the industry used surrogates to make its case.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40A new group suddenly popped up,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43the Alliance of Australian Retailers,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45backed with serious money.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48The Government plans to put all cigarettes in plain packaging.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51And there's no real evidence it works.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Plain packaging.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56It won't work, so why do it?
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Authorised by the Alliance of Australian Retailers, Sydney.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Until plain packaging came on the scene,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03none of us had ever heard of this thing called
0:30:03 > 0:30:06the Alliance of Australian Retailers.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Then, suddenly, we see a massive promotional campaign,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14and it was clearly running all the tobacco industry arguments.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17We didn't know who was running it, we didn't know how it was being
0:30:17 > 0:30:21funded, there was a reference to support from the industry,
0:30:21 > 0:30:25but it was being presented as the retailers themselves.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32That was a bit of a mystery until, one night,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I woke up and checked my e-mails.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38A whistle-blower had been burning the midnight oil.
0:30:38 > 0:30:43They came piling in, showing that the Alliance of Australian Retailers
0:30:43 > 0:30:45was what's called astroturfing -
0:30:45 > 0:30:49trying to give the impression of a popular community movement
0:30:49 > 0:30:52when, in fact, it's being run by a major industry.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- It won't work. - It won't work.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It'll make it harder to run my business.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02It turns out the big three tobacco companies, BAT, Philip Morris
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and Imperial were funding the alliance
0:31:05 > 0:31:10to the tune of over AU 5 million, around £3 million.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13We went to meet one of the founders of the alliance.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19What support did you have from the tobacco industry?
0:31:19 > 0:31:22The tobacco companies gave financial support.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26- About AU 5 million, wasn't it? - Well, something like that.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28I don't know the exact figures,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30but there was a lot of money spent on advertising.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32When we set up the alliance,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35tobacco companies could not run the programme.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39But the tobacco companies, did they help guide the campaign?
0:31:39 > 0:31:44Yes, they paid for professionals to guide the campaign.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48- Are you a smoker?- No, I'm not. - Why not?- Because it'll kill you.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55BAT claims plain packaging in Australia has been a failure,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57just as they had predicted.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Plain packaging hasn't had an impact in increasing
0:32:03 > 0:32:06the amount of people quitting smoking.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12The real point was to deter young people between the ages of,
0:32:12 > 0:32:17say, 12, 15, 16, to take up smoking, that was the purpose of legislation.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Initially, it was to stop people smoking,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22and they kept moving the goalposts as they went through the process,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and as it became apparent the plain packaging wasn't working,
0:32:25 > 0:32:26the goalposts shifted.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29I think the early signs are that things are working
0:32:29 > 0:32:33the way we intend, and that most of the tobacco companies' claims
0:32:33 > 0:32:36are not turning out to be...
0:32:36 > 0:32:38be based on evidence.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44In England and Wales, the battle over plain packaging has been
0:32:44 > 0:32:48even more politically contentious. And it's not over yet.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55At first, the Government was in favour of plain packaging
0:32:55 > 0:32:59but then it did a U-turn after intense lobbying by the industry
0:32:59 > 0:33:01and its supporters.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04The Prime Minister was accused of caving in and being
0:33:04 > 0:33:09lobbied by his election strategist, the Australian Lynton Crosby.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Lynton Crosby's agency has listed BAT and Philip Morris
0:33:14 > 0:33:16among its clients.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Mr Crosby was accused of abusing his privileged position
0:33:19 > 0:33:21to promote the industry's case.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Did you ever lobby the Prime Minister on tobacco?
0:33:26 > 0:33:29The Prime Minister's said everything that needs to be said on that issue.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31He's never lobbied me on anything!
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Mr Speaker, he is the Prime Minister for Benson & Hedge-funds,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37and he knows it.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Can't he see there is a devastating conflict of interest
0:33:41 > 0:33:46between having your key adviser raking it in from big tobacco
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and then advising you not to go ahead with plain packaging?
0:33:52 > 0:33:56In the end, Mr Crosby publicly denied there had been any lobbying
0:33:56 > 0:33:59or even any conversation with the Prime Minister
0:33:59 > 0:34:01about plain packaging.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Then the Government did yet another U-turn and appointed
0:34:05 > 0:34:08the paediatrician Prof Sir Cyril Chantler
0:34:08 > 0:34:10to review the evidence.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13He recommended the Government SHOULD introduce plain packaging.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17Most people who smoke as adults started when they were children
0:34:17 > 0:34:21and were absolutely addicted by the time they were 25.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25There is evidence that young people are particularly susceptible
0:34:25 > 0:34:28to addiction.
0:34:28 > 0:34:34So, if you can encourage people not to start, then you'll reduce
0:34:34 > 0:34:37the suffering and the premature deaths,
0:34:37 > 0:34:42and the huge cost that this imposes to our National Health Service,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44which, of course, we all pay for.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50This was one of more than 50 studies that pointed in the same direction.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Stay really still. So, we're going to track your eye movements
0:34:53 > 0:34:57while you look at a whole different range of cigarette packs.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01This eye-tracking trial established that young non-smokers
0:35:01 > 0:35:04paid more attention to health warnings when branding is removed.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08Towards the health warning, it kept their attention down here...
0:35:08 > 0:35:13A 2% reduction in the 200,000 or so young people who start smoking
0:35:13 > 0:35:18each year will be 4,000 young people not starting smoking each year,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22which, of course, would translate, eventually,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24into a huge saving, in terms of lives.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Now the Government is minded to legislate,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31but only after yet more consultation.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Scotland has already said it will go ahead.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39There is no evidence that plain packaging will reduce
0:35:39 > 0:35:42the rates of youth uptake of smoking.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44There are all sorts of reasons
0:35:44 > 0:35:47why children may or may not start smoking.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Our packaging is designed as a marketing lever to be
0:35:50 > 0:35:55competitive, to encourage consumers who have chosen to smoke
0:35:55 > 0:35:58to switch from a competitor's product to ours.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00That's a BAT product.
0:36:00 > 0:36:01Who's that designed to appeal to?
0:36:01 > 0:36:04This is designed to appeal to adult smokers.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- This is not designed to appeal to children.- That packet says glamour.
0:36:08 > 0:36:09It's called Vogue.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14The point that Sir Cyril makes is that children, inevitably,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18are affected by the image that that packet and similar packets portray.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Sir Cyril Chantler states in his report quite clearly
0:36:21 > 0:36:24that there are limitations with the evidence that
0:36:24 > 0:36:26he's found with regard to plain packaging.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And the debate is far from over.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34As children lie at its heart,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37I went to a school in Lancashire to see what a group
0:36:37 > 0:36:40of 11- and 12-year-old children think
0:36:40 > 0:36:42about current and plain cigarette packs.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44The session was organised by a campaigner
0:36:44 > 0:36:46from Tobacco Free Futures.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51It's really shiny, so, like, people think it's new and, like,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54it's a new way of opening them.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55It's got, like, a nice box.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57It's golden-y as well inside.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01And there's different colours of them.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05Well, that one's a bright packet, and it drags you in and makes you
0:37:05 > 0:37:08want to smoke them because they're bright and colourful.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13And it's like you want to fit in to all your friends.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Certainly, the children I met thought plain packaging would work.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I think it will decrease how many are sold
0:37:19 > 0:37:21because it's a lot more plain, a lot more, like...
0:37:21 > 0:37:24It tells you a lot more how dangerous it is.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26I think it will decrease the people
0:37:26 > 0:37:28that start to smoke at a young age
0:37:28 > 0:37:32because they won't want to smoke because it's a horrible packet,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36and if they read them, then they know it's really bad for them.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38And it's not all fancy, and stuff.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46But one of our closest neighbours is already committed to introduce
0:37:46 > 0:37:50plain packaging later this year, and that's Ireland.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Once, Irish pubs were synonymous with smoking,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59but Ireland has led the way in bringing in a range of tough
0:37:59 > 0:38:01anti-smoking legislation.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06I remember coming into pubs like this
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and walking into a thick fug of cigarette smoke.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Of course, all that has now changed
0:38:11 > 0:38:15since Ireland introduced a ban on smoking in public places,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17and that was ten years ago.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21And Ireland was the first country in the world to do so.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23The air is much sweeter now.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32Every anti-smoking measure has been implacably opposed by the industry.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38This mountain of postcards
0:38:38 > 0:38:41is a rare glimpse of the scale of its lobbying,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45all sent to oppose a draft European proposal on tobacco.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50We received about 10,000 submissions.
0:38:50 > 0:38:5397% of them were,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55I believe, from the tobacco industry.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00It was a clearly co-ordinated, concerted campaign
0:39:00 > 0:39:04and, of course, the idea is to obfuscate and delay
0:39:04 > 0:39:07by bunging our system up with so many submissions
0:39:07 > 0:39:09that slows everything down.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11But we're wise to their ways.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16The Minister has personal reasons for his stand.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20My father, who was a doctor, he smoked,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24and, unfortunately, at the age of 66, he got a stroke.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27My brother was a doctor as well, but he couldn't kick the habit
0:39:27 > 0:39:29and he died at 68 from lung cancer.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35So I've very personal experience of the consequence of smoking
0:39:35 > 0:39:39and what it means for families, and the distress that it causes.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Why are you going to introduce plain packaging, standard packaging?
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Because I believe firmly, as the Australians believe,
0:39:45 > 0:39:47that it will work.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51I've gone so far in the Parliament of this country to call this
0:39:51 > 0:39:56industry an evil industry, and I've been written to and told to desist.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02But I do struggle to find another term for an industry that seeks
0:40:02 > 0:40:07to addict young children to their product, knowing full well
0:40:07 > 0:40:11that one in two of them who become addicted will die as a consequence.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17To counter all the evidence from Australia and elsewhere,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20the industry repeatedly hammers one argument,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24that plain packaging will result in an avalanche of cheap,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27smuggled cigarettes, both branded and counterfeit.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31It argues these illicit cigarettes will encourage people
0:40:31 > 0:40:33to smoke more, especially the young.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Australia was the test-bed for the industry's argument.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42We're just about to approach a store which we believe...
0:40:44 > 0:40:47..illegal cigarettes are being sold.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50BAT's spokesman, Scott McIntyre, is happy to show us
0:40:50 > 0:40:53how easy it is to buy smuggled cigarettes.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57BAT has hired a private security company
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and they have an undercover customer we'll call Angie.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04When Angie goes into the shop, what does she ask for?
0:41:04 > 0:41:07"What have you got that's under 10?" Or, "What's your cheapest brand?"
0:41:07 > 0:41:10And she'll buy a couple of cartons
0:41:10 > 0:41:14and, hopefully, we'll see her come out of this shop, which is
0:41:14 > 0:41:18just around the corner, with a bag full of illegal product.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Here she comes.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29BAT do 3,000 covert purchases every year.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34Here she comes. She's been successful.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38We followed Angie to three more shops,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40and in two of them she struck lucky.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Yep, something in the bag.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57It's not surprising that Angie's shopping trip was successful
0:41:57 > 0:42:01because BAT had checked out the stores first
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and established that illegal cigarettes were being sold.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07But how typical that is of stores across Australia
0:42:07 > 0:42:09is open to question.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16BAT claims that plain packaging
0:42:16 > 0:42:19has increased illicit tobacco smuggling by around a third.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24But there is a supreme irony. In the past,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28the tobacco industry has been accused by officials
0:42:28 > 0:42:30of increasing smuggling by flooding some markets with more
0:42:30 > 0:42:34cigarettes than they could possibly sell. So, inevitably,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37their branded cigarettes ended up in the black market.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43I don't think that we can just take their assertions at face value.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47This is an industry who made assertions for decades after
0:42:47 > 0:42:50decades that there was no health risk to smoking
0:42:50 > 0:42:53when they knew that there was.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58Why we should then believe their claims about counterfeit tobacco is a big question.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01The industry does not always tell the truth,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05and their claims should be considered very sceptically.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12It's impossible to get perfect data on smuggling, as it's illegal,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15but there is hard evidence from Australian customs,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19and it could have crucial implications for the UK.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Most illicit cigarettes are smuggled in huge containers, like these.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30X-rays may reveal any shipments of smuggled cigarettes.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36So, what we've got here is the equivalent of approximately
0:43:36 > 0:43:3810 million illicit cigarettes
0:43:38 > 0:43:40that have been seized by Customs & Border Protection.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43All these came out of one 40-ft container.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45And when you see it for real,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48the scale of such a seizure takes your breath away.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52It equates to about AU 1.5 to 2 million of duty that's been evaded,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54or attempted to be evaded.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58And these are...?
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- From China.- Yes.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Never seen these before.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09Cigarettes like these are sold on the streets for half price.
0:44:09 > 0:44:14Customs are seizing about 200 million illicit cigarettes a year.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17The question is, is the problem getting any worse?
0:44:17 > 0:44:21The tobacco industry say that the increase
0:44:21 > 0:44:24since the introduction of plain packaging has been dramatic.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27Would you describe the increase as being dramatic?
0:44:27 > 0:44:30No, I wouldn't describe the increase as being dramatic, as such,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34and I wouldn't describe it as being related to plain packaging at all.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40So, what of the industry's claim that plain-packaged products
0:44:40 > 0:44:42would be much easier to counterfeit?
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Customs have seized around 120 shipments
0:44:45 > 0:44:47since the new law came into force.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51Only one contained plain-packaged cigarettes.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56But the industry insist that illicit tobacco is rising sharply
0:44:56 > 0:45:00and has now reached almost 14% of the total market.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06The Cancer Council of Victoria say that smuggling is
0:45:06 > 0:45:08round about 1 to 2%, no more than that.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12That is a huge discrepancy from the amount that you're claiming.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Our figures actually show the same trend
0:45:15 > 0:45:18that the custom figures show, that they're going up.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Wait a minute, the customs say there has been an increase
0:45:21 > 0:45:22but the increase has been small.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26You're saying the increase has been considerable, has been great.
0:45:26 > 0:45:27Customs aren't saying that.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Customs only scan less than 5% of all containers that come through
0:45:30 > 0:45:32the docks of Sydney.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The industry's claim is based on a study
0:45:37 > 0:45:40they commissioned the consultants KPMG to do.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43A crucial part of the data is based on people
0:45:43 > 0:45:47searching for discarded packs in the street and in bins,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50and then analysing what percentage is smuggled.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54That seems to be hardly the most scientific
0:45:54 > 0:45:56way of collecting your data.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59It is laid out there in the report, I think there's
0:45:59 > 0:46:02a couple of pages on the methodology.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06We use KPMG because they are regarded as the world's number one
0:46:06 > 0:46:08at these types of reports.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11The industry has commissioned research on smuggling
0:46:11 > 0:46:15and plain packaging from a whole range of consultants.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20They would argue that they do their research, they do it scientifically.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25- Do you accept that?- As an academic researcher, I beg to differ.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I mean, I think quite a lot of the research
0:46:28 > 0:46:31that the tobacco industries fund is rubbish.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37It uses weak research methods, inadequate sample sizes,
0:46:37 > 0:46:41they have questions that are leading,
0:46:41 > 0:46:46and I'm not convinced by any of it.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51British American Tobacco and KPMG told us
0:46:51 > 0:46:55they have complete confidence in their research and stand by it.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Despite all of Australia's efforts,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00thousands of young people are still lighting up.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03But, perhaps surprisingly, few of the champions of smoking
0:47:03 > 0:47:07we spoke to were keen on the habit themselves.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11- Do you smoke?- No, I don't. - Why don't you smoke?
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Because it's obviously very harmful to your health
0:47:14 > 0:47:17and, as a young person growing up in Australia, I learned
0:47:17 > 0:47:21from a very early age that it can do very serious damage to you,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24it can possibly kill you, so I choose not to smoke.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27But that doesn't mean that other Australians shouldn't have the
0:47:27 > 0:47:31right to do that, knowing the risks as adults over the age of 18.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37In the UK, the industry is now resorting to exactly the same
0:47:37 > 0:47:41arguments against plain packaging as it's still deploying
0:47:41 > 0:47:46so vociferously in Australia, with warnings of a smuggling Armageddon.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50We went to the north-west of England to try
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and find out how big a problem smuggling is in the UK.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56Trading standards.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00We've got reason to believe you're selling illicit tobacco.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03We followed a trading standards team
0:48:03 > 0:48:06supported by the police as they raided a small shop.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Is it under here?
0:48:09 > 0:48:10Is it under here?
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Yeah, he is putting his nose there.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17This is the third time this shop has been raided.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21The last couple of times, the owner was fined,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23but clearly not enough to deter him.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Good boy. Good boy.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30- So you found what you're looking for.- We're winning.
0:48:32 > 0:48:38BAT claims that smuggled cigarettes are 16% of the total
0:48:38 > 0:48:42UK market, but as in Australia, those figures are hotly contested.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47It's a measure of the importance of the smuggling argument to BAT
0:48:47 > 0:48:52that it signed up Northern Ireland's former chief constable as a consultant.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58In the UK, the scale is reckoned to be, and this is a conservative
0:48:58 > 0:49:03estimate, a loss to the UK Exchequer of more than £8 million per day.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08Interestingly, that amounts to just over £3 billion annually.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13Indeed, when you consider that in addition to what these
0:49:13 > 0:49:15criminals use those profits for
0:49:15 > 0:49:18in all sorts of other areas of criminality,
0:49:18 > 0:49:22be it human trafficking, terrorism, money-laundering,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26I think it's a very significant global problem.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30The trading standards team eventually hit the jackpot.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39Hidden away, they found around £7,000-worth of illicit cigarettes,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41some are probably counterfeit
0:49:41 > 0:49:45but most are genuine brands smuggled in without duty being paid.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48In addition, there are brands like Jin Ling,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52manufactured legally in Russia with a view to being smuggled.
0:49:52 > 0:49:58And roughly what would these Marlboros be selling at?
0:49:58 > 0:50:01- Around £3.50 a pack. - Just under half price?- Yes.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Trading standards say their hard work is paying off,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08and the industry is simply scaremongering.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14Ten years ago, something like 18% of the market was illicit,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16we've reduced that considerably,
0:50:16 > 0:50:20so now it's about 9% of the market.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23The cigarette companies say that if plain packaging were to be
0:50:23 > 0:50:27introduced, all this would increase hugely.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Cigarette companies say every time there is
0:50:29 > 0:50:33a change in legislation, every time the duty on cigarettes is
0:50:33 > 0:50:37increased, there will be a huge increase in smuggling.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Every year for the last ten years and more,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43there has been a consistent and substantial
0:50:43 > 0:50:47decrease in the illicit share of the cigarette market.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51The industry claims children can get hold of illegal cigarettes
0:50:51 > 0:50:53far too easily
0:50:53 > 0:50:57and has devised a better way of deterring underaged smokers...
0:50:57 > 0:51:00by training retailers.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03Now one company has launched a pilot scheme.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Critics say it's simply lobbying by another name.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08The first thing that you need to consider is,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10is your store laid out correctly?
0:51:10 > 0:51:16JTI, makers of Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut in the UK, are spending
0:51:16 > 0:51:21£400,000 training shopkeepers of the north-west to ask for ID.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Isn't it a PR exercise, first and foremost?
0:51:26 > 0:51:29I don't think for one minute it's a PR exercise.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31You know, it's just them doing their bit.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38An hour into the research at the other store, trading standards
0:51:38 > 0:51:42suspect they've found evidence of children buying cigarettes.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43Underneath the counter
0:51:43 > 0:51:48so far we've found two open packets of the Marlboro Gold
0:51:48 > 0:51:50with ones missing, and the Berkeley,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53so I suspect they're selling them singly.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54Potentially to children.
0:51:54 > 0:51:59Trading standards do their own training of shopkeepers and say
0:51:59 > 0:52:03illicit cigarettes are on the decline because of their efforts.
0:52:05 > 0:52:11Isn't £400,000 from JTI a welcome contribution to the problem
0:52:11 > 0:52:14that you are tackling and they say they want to tackle?
0:52:14 > 0:52:20JTI are spending £400,000, which is a drop in the ocean to them,
0:52:20 > 0:52:25to try and say that what they're doing is the way to stop
0:52:25 > 0:52:28children accessing cigarettes, when actually what
0:52:28 > 0:52:31they could do is put their cigarettes in plain packaging,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34standardised packaging, which would be far less attractive to
0:52:34 > 0:52:38children and stop far more children starting the habit.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Once young people start, this may be their future.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50Brian Jackson has now given up smoking, but it's too late.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56I can't walk more than 100 yards without being very much
0:52:56 > 0:53:00out of breath. I can't go outside if it's cold.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03If there's a cold wind or it's raining,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05that really does get to my lungs.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11You're 62. What does the future hold, given your condition?
0:53:13 > 0:53:17I try not to look too far into the future,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20but I think I've got to be realistic,
0:53:20 > 0:53:26and be fully aware that I probably will not make it to 70.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30I would be very surprised if I did. Very surprised.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43How do you see the future?
0:53:43 > 0:53:46I don't really know, I don't know whether I've got one.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49I'm hoping I have, but I don't know.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55I know one thing, I'm not having another fag, put it that way.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59There's no way I'm having another cigarette now. No way.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06Will you apologise for the tens of thousands of smokers who have
0:54:06 > 0:54:09suffered as a result of smoking cigarettes?
0:54:09 > 0:54:14Our job is to make sure people are informed of the risks of smoking.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Consumers thereafter will make a choice based on those risks,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19whether they smoke or not.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24We actually say on our website that the only safe way is to quit.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27- Do you smoke?- I do smoke, yes.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30- Do your children smoke? - They're far too young.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34- Would you like your children to smoke?- I'd rather they didn't.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Around the world, the battle continues, and the anti-tobacco
0:54:40 > 0:54:44lobby is already thinking of where to strike next.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50We always have to keep looking forward.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54You need to keep the momentum up, reducing the number of retail
0:54:54 > 0:54:57outlets, reducing access, more tax increases.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00The louder the tobacco industry scream,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03the more effective you know the measure's going to be.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08We need to think about smoking in public places,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12and extending those policies into areas where children go.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15How much would you like to see a packet of 20 cost?
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Three times what it costs now.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21Talking to smokers, many will say, "If you made it £20 a pack,
0:55:21 > 0:55:23"I'd stop smoking."
0:55:24 > 0:55:28But the industry now thinks it may be able to remove the stigma
0:55:28 > 0:55:31that has long been attached to its business.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34It's developing new ways of delivering nicotine that
0:55:34 > 0:55:36could save millions of lives.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41BAT calls its strategy "harm reduction",
0:55:41 > 0:55:44based on its acceptance that conventional cigarettes kill.
0:55:44 > 0:55:49It's now developing a range of much safer products based on nicotine
0:55:49 > 0:55:54and not tobacco, that produces the deadly carcinogens when burned.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56BAT's first electronic, or e-cigarette,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59is already on the market.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04I think this is a hugely important moment for the tobacco industry.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09I think the future is about tobacco harm reduction, it's about
0:56:09 > 0:56:13providing a range of alternative nicotine products to consumers,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16whilst conventional cigarettes will remain
0:56:16 > 0:56:18the mainstay of our business for a long time.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23BAT's factory in Germany is still producing
0:56:23 > 0:56:26around 200 million cigarettes a day.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29E-cigarettes may be a foretaste of the future,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31as we will see in the next programme,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35but in the UK they're only a small part of the present.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40Critics say e-cigarettes are simply a smokescreen to divert
0:56:40 > 0:56:44attention from the massive harm that the majority of its business
0:56:44 > 0:56:46still causes.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Aren't you trying to rebrand yourselves?
0:56:49 > 0:56:53British American Tobacco is committed to a progressive future.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56I think we are different because we are at the forefront
0:56:56 > 0:57:00of driving that tobacco harm-reduction future.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02I understand that we are indeed the problem.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06That is no reason for us not to be part of the solution.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13I find it remarkable to see how much the public stance
0:57:13 > 0:57:17of the tobacco industry, and BAT in particular, has changed.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20But the glaring paradox remains.
0:57:20 > 0:57:25How can an industry that openly admits its product kills
0:57:25 > 0:57:28over 5 million of its consumers every year
0:57:28 > 0:57:31carry on producing and marketing cigarettes?
0:57:34 > 0:57:38I think for a company that sells a product that kills
0:57:38 > 0:57:41half of its users, and continues to promote that product around
0:57:41 > 0:57:45the world as widely as it possibly can, it's a public relations joke.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50It's far from a PR stunt, it's a very, very clear commercial intent.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52It's the right thing to do for society.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56It's the right thing to do commercially for our shareholders.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00British American Tobacco say that they are now committed to
0:58:00 > 0:58:02harm reduction.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06When BAT stand up and say, "As of, say, two, three,
0:58:06 > 0:58:10"five years from now, we're going to stop selling cigarettes because
0:58:10 > 0:58:13"we are a socially responsible company," I'll believe them.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Next time - we investigate how the industry is hooking
0:58:17 > 0:58:21millions of new smokers in the developing world,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25how a new Marlboro campaign blatantly targets the young,
0:58:25 > 0:58:29how cigarette companies exploit loopholes to get round
0:58:29 > 0:58:31advertising bans, and how the industry
0:58:31 > 0:58:35hopes e-cigarettes will safeguard its future.