Japan Tobacco Give 38 MPs Freebies Worth £60k during Plain Package Battle

Source from:  Daily Mail 05/21/2015

Some 38 MPs have been taken to prestigious events such as the Wimbledon men's final, the Chelsea Flower show, and rock band comeback concerts by one of the largest tobacco firms.

An investigation found the politicians - 30 Tories and eight Labour - have jointly accepted £60,000 worth of hospitality since 2010 from Japan Tobacco International, which makes the brands Camel, Winston, Benson and Hedges, and Silk Cut.

Other events where the MPs were entertained included the Glyndebourne opera festival in East Sussex and Test Match cricket at The Oval in London.
The investigation by the BMJ has prompted concern that the tobacco industry was trying to lobby MPs to reject proposals to introduce plain cigarette packaging.

The House of Commons held a vote on this in March and overwhelmingly approved the move, which will mean plain packaged cigarettes will appear on shelves by next year.

But 20 of the MPs who accepted free hospitality from Japan Tobacco International - more than half - voted against plain packaging.

They include Stephen Hepburn, Labour MP for Jarrow in Newcastle, who was taken to the Chelsea Flower Show last year.

His constituency has one of the highest rates of lung cancer and smoking-related deaths in the country - nearly double the national average. Enditem