Contentious Corporate Social Responsibility Practices by British American Tobacco in Cameroon (original) (raw)

2016, Social Science Research Network

traffic congestion, energy waste, safety and security and access to trade and enterprise opportunities. Major companies have developed programmes for small business development in Kenya, crime prevention in South Africa, business education in China, folk culture preservation in Venezuela, and medical treatment and flood relief in Pakistan. A few specific examples follow. British American Tobacco (BAT) had a virtual monopoly in parts of Africa, both in terms of tobacco manufacturing and sales of cigarettes. In eleven African countries BAT had more than a 90% share of the cigarette market (Awang, 2011: 289). The purpose of this paper is to examine the process is to demonstrate how British American Tobacco has used its corporate social responsibility strategy to cloud the controversy surrounding its activities in Cameroon. The paper further examines some of the controversies that surround the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of BAT in Cameroon through issues related to health, social and economic impacts of BAT's activities in Cameroon from 1985 to 2010. The paper therefore concludes that BAT's heavy footprint on the African continent has wreaked havoc on the economy, health and welfare of the people, thus partially contributing to an increase in social spending by the government of Cameroon. Cameroon Tobacco Industry in Historical Perspective The tobacco industry and the consumption of cigarettes are controversial activities in virtually all the countries in the world. Yet the emergence of tobacco processing and cigarette producing companies, and an increase in tobacco consumption worldwide are alarming. In Cameroon, there were two major tobacco processing companies (BAT and SITABAC) and a number of subcontracting firms that dealt in tobacco products. British American Tobacco is one of the leading tobacco manufacturing and trading companies in the world. However, BAT is not the first tobacco company in Cameroon. Thus, we are going to present a historical background of cigarette manufacturing in Cameroon. Secondly, we will examine the factors that favoured the implantation of BAT in Cameroon. Finally we are going to describe the implantation proper of this economic entity in Cameroon. From a global perspective, the production, consumption and trade in tobacco from 1970 to 2000 is demonstrated in Table One below.