Tobacco company considered funding a film to promote smoking in eastern Europe

Previously secret documents show that British American Tobacco (BAT) considered investing in a £2.25m (€3.3m; $4.2m) action film, with a heroine who smoked, for distribution in eastern Europe, according to a new report (European Journal of Public Health 2006 Apr 5, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl041).

In return for providing money to make the film, the company would have cigarette marketing opportunities in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, says a letter from the film's producer cited in the report. British American Tobacco would have had the right to position its chosen brand in the film.

The report cites examples of other interest in using films to promote tobacco smoking in several eastern European countries, after …