One of the world's largest tobacco companies has agreed to stop giving its employees free cigarettes following an investigation by the Ministry of Health.
Imperial Tobacco has also agreed to voluntarily give $5000 to a community project of its choice.
The investigation was sparked by a complaint by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) after the tobacco company's commercial boss, Brendan Walker, confirmed cigarettes were available to workers during breaks at its Petone factory.
He said the free cigarettes were provided for testing purposes.
ASH complained that the company was in breach of section 28 of the Smokefree Environments Act, which states that no manufacturer, distributor, importer, or retailer of tobacco products may distribute any tobacco product for free. The penalty for breaching the section is a fine of up to $50,000.
The Ministry of Health started its investigation on May 21 and Imperial Tobacco stopped providing its employees with cigarettes 10 days later. In a letter of agreement it also said it would not do so again.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10903672
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