Success is hard to measure, especially for a company like ours. Take one look at our balance sheet and there's no doubting our achievements: since 1970 our operating income has increased from $54 million to $10.25 billion, and we produce some 600 billion more cigarettes than we did 30 years ago.

If we measured ourselves solely on the basis of our economic growth, we'd measure up well. In fact, we'd be in exceptionally good shape.

But we believe there's more to a company's performance than financial facts and figures.

We know that society has concerns about our product. We believe we should measure ourselves also by the way we respond to those concerns. That's why youth smoking prevention, the development of reduced risk products and responsible marketing are priorities for our company. And we don't mean to stop there.

People around the world expect more from companies these days. They expect them to be socially aware, to contribute to their communities and to have clear positions on such topics as the environment.

We're taking those expectations seriously and, more importantly, we take action: we're working with farmers to develop good agricultural practices for the tobacco we purchase, we're abiding by a set of environmental principles to improve the way our factories use resources, and we're backing community initiatives and relief efforts to help those in need around the world.

This isn't about altruism; it's about recognizing that companies are part of the communities and the environment they operate in. We know that there are no simple answers. We know there's a lot more to do. But we mean it when we say: this is just the start.

Please see the "Community initiatives", "Youth smoking prevention" and "Our business environment" sections of our site for more details.