Officials of the British American Tobacco Company (BAT) have challenged the Ministry of Health to produce the law that has allegedly been flouted by the company.

"We might be flouting a law which we do not know of and we will be grateful if MOH can point out that law to us", Mr. Kofi Selby, Marketing, Corporate and Regulating Affairs Director of BAT said.

The company says, to the best of its knowledge, there was no legislation that bans direct advertisement of tobacco products in the media (Television and Radio). "What we know was a directive a former Health Minister Commodore Steve Obimpeh gave that bans smoking in public places and health institutions".

Sources close to the Attorney-Generals Department also confirmed that there was no law banning tobacco advertisement in the media.

"There was a proposal during the PNDC era but it never materialised and therefore, never became law", the source said. BAT has been accused by health professionals of flouting the country's law against public advertisement in the media.

Mr. Selby said the company had stopped sponsoring beauty contests and are rather contributing their quota to the development of education.

The company is investing an average of 300 million cedis a year as scholarships for 86 beneficiaries at the various educational institutions and honour best students in the universities.

He said the company has been giving out scholarships to bright and needy students in the universities and payments were made directly to the authorities. BAT says, it does not advertise its products in the media, use celebrities nor successful personalities to advertise.

It states that it is aware of the health hazards smoking poses to people and their target is the adult population. “We have a campaign programme that seeks to educate the youth against smoking,” Mr. Selby said.

According him, a research conducted by the company showed that 2.6 per cent of the adult population in the country smoke cigarette. He expressed the company's concern for not involving them in the national steering committee against tobacco. "Such a committee should have had representatives from all sectors concerned but that was not the case".

BAT says, although smoking is risky, it is not its responsibility to decide who smokes. "Our business is not about persuading people not to smoke; it is about offering quality brands to adults who have already taken the decision to smoke," the company stated in a one-page document.

It however, shared the concern by the public health community that the health impact of smoking should be reduced and expressed its commitment to working with others to achieve results.

For instance, the company would continue to support relevant research to understand the biological mechanisms that link smoking with diseases with the aim that the study would help it produce cigarettes with lower associated risks.

The document titled. "Smoking - Our View" dismissed claims about the effect of environmental tobacco smoke on people living nearby, usually termed passive smokers, saying they have been over-stated.

However, it accepts that environmental tobacco smoke is an issue of public importance "and we agree with health authorities that it is proper not to smoke around young children."

BAT further agrees with public health officials that smoking has the risk of serious diseases such as lung cancer, respiratory and heart diseases. "We also recognise that for many people, smoking is difficult to quit," the document noted.

Health professionals have in recent months expressed concern about the increasing prevalence and use of tobacco by a large number of the population, mostly under-aged school going children.

Meanwhile, the company's Annual Reports and Accounts for 2000 shows that BAT contributed a total of 101,820 million cedis in taxes and import duties to government in addition to shareholders' dividend totalling 122,933 million cedis.