British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2025, it is the second-largest tobacco company in the world based on net sales.[7][8]
BAT has operations in around 180 countries and its cigarette brands include Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall and Rothmans. Its brands also include Vuse e-cigarettes,[9] Glo heated tobacco, and Velo nicotine pouches.[10]
BAT has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[11] It has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. BAT plc ordinary shares are also listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Shares.
History
1902 to 2000
The company was formed in 1902, when the United Kingdom's Imperial Tobacco Company and the United States' American Tobacco Company agreed to form a joint venture, the "British-American Tobacco Company Ltd."[12] The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other's domestic territory and to assign trademarks, export businesses and overseas subsidiaries to the joint venture. At its foundation James Buchanan Duke was the chairman, with Henry Herbert Wills the deputy chairman; initial senior managers included Hugo Cunliffe-Owen (the protégé of Harry Wills and later BAT's Chairman) and Albert Jeffress (later Deputy Chairman).[13] Trade was swiftly organised through existing agencies in countries as diverse as Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, but sales were not conducted in the United Kingdom or in the United States.[12]
In China, BAT inherited a factory in the
Operations
The company offers an extensive range of brands:[37]
Current
Global brands include Dunhill, Kent, North State, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Vogue, Rothmans International, Winfield, State Express 555, KOOL, and Viceroy. BAT does not necessarily own the rights to all of these brands in every nation they are marketed.
Other affiliates
British American Tobacco Ghana Limited is a public limited company operated by British American in Ghana.[42] The company is listed (gse: BAT) on the stock index of the Ghana Stock Exchange, the GSE All-Share Index. It was formed in 1999 out of a merger between the Pioneer Tobacco Company and Meridian Tobacco.[43]
Sponsorships
BAT holds a minority share in ITC Limited. ITC Limited sponsored the 1996 Cricket World Cup, which was named the "Wills World Cup" similarly to the ITC Limited owned Wills Navy Cut cigarette brand in India.[44]
BAT previously sponsored the London Symphony Orchestra.[45]
Furthermore, BAT established The British American Tobacco Internship program, which is designed to help new graduates gain experience in their chosen field of study in a dynamic global organization.[46]
Formula One
In 1997, BAT brought its participation in the sport to new levels with the purchase of
Controversies
Ignoring the cancer risks of cigarettes
As far back as 1958, BAT had information that cigarettes cause cancer. Three senior BAT scientists – H.R. Bentley, D.G.I. Felton, and W.W. Reid – travelled to the United States that year and talked to dozens of experts inside and outside of the tobacco industry.[57] According to industry documents, all but one of those consulted believed a connection between cigarettes and cancer had been proved.[58]
Smoking bans
Industry documents from the 1970s to the late 1990s shows that tobacco companies were seriously concerned about fatwas against smoking by Muslim jurists in Muslim majority countries. In 1996, an internal document from British American Tobacco warned that, because of the spread of "extremist views" from fundamentalists in countries such as Afghanistan, the industry would have to "prepare to fight a hurricane".[59]
See also
External links
- Yahoo! – British American Tobacco plc Company Profile
- British American Tobacco plc historical stock chart
- BAT 'dragged out' of Burma; The Guardian; 7 November 2003
- George Monbiot, The Guardian, 23 August 2005, "Smoke and mirrors"
- World Health Organisation: WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008
References
- British American Tobacco P.L.C. overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK Companies House, 1997-07-23, retrieved 2024-02-10^
- BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO P.L.C. retrieved 2026-01-29^
- British American Tobacco - British American Tobacco - Our history www.bat.com