Letter: Tobacco company of integrity

YOUR ARTICLE about the tobacco industry ('Turning over an old leaf', the Sunday Review, 21 August) was received by Imperial Tobacco with some dismay.

We have learnt to expect biased reporting from journalists obsessed with parading their prejudices and ill-informed views.

Ian Parker was given facilities to visit our factory and talk to our employees. We do not tell our employees what to think nor do we expect project engineers or production employees to be fully acquainted with all of the issues connected with this industry.

We pride ourselves on being a company of integrity and honesty and we believe that all of our employees share that view. Furthermore, since we were in business long before the turn of the century, we believe our customers also support that view.

We are proud to have the workforce that we do and to enjoy the support of the 16 million or so consumers who use tobacco products regularly. To ridicule us in the way that Ian Parker's article did is a slight on us, our employees and our consumers which we and they certainly do not deserve.

P A Sadler

Imperial Tobacco Limited

Bristol