October 09, 2009 04:00:14 PM
British American Tobacco's subsidiary in France said Thursday it would sue websites selling contraband cigarettes that use its brands.
"Trade in contraband tobacco products and the counterfeiting of cigarette brands are reprehensible offences," BAT France said in a statement. It did not give further details of the legal action it planned.
It estimated that the French state was deprived of 3.7 billion euros (five billion dollars) in lost tax revenue on tobacco sales in 2008.
