Betteridge was quoted in a Times article that suggested the firm had privately explored ways of selling cigarettes to teenagers. The article claimed that BAT's commitment to youth smoking prevention campaigns was tokenistic.
Betteridge's defence seemed to confirm this. He said that BAT has funded more than 120 youth anti-smoking programmes worldwide. This may sound impressive, but the company also boasts that it has "brands sold in 180 markets around the world".
The evidence quoted by The Times was from internal memos, showing how the company used "popular bands, DJs, toys and video games" to target the youth market. Why should a company that believes children should not smoke be discussing linking with "a computer-rendered character, as in the characters from the PlayStation game Tomb Raider"?
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