Paul Bourassa

Paul Bourassa was Senior Vice President for Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance at Japan Tobacco International (JTI) from 2005 until 2015 when he left the company.¹

Career at Japan Tobacco International

Bourassa joined RJ Reynolds International (which was acquired by JTI in 1999) in 1993 as Senior International Counsel, and has held various senior positions including:

• Head of Corporate Affairs (appointed 2004)
• Chief Legal Officer (appointed 2003)
• General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (appointed 2002)

Signed JTI’s Anti-Smuggling Agreement with the EU

Bourassa, on behalf of JTI, signed in December 2007 a 15-year Cooperation Agreement with the European Commission to combat tobacco smuggling.² The anti-fraud agreement is one of four between the European Union (EU) and tobacco companies regarding smuggling, with the other three being with Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco. The agreement with PMI expired in 2016 and was not renewed and the rest are ongoing.³
The agreements settled EU attempted litigation before US courts against several tobacco manufacturers, including JTI regarding involvement in tobacco smuggling. Under the agreement, JTI has committed to substantial payments, totalling $400 million over 15 years, and “to a continuous process of dialogue and cooperation with the EC and Member States to evaluate and address the trade in Illegal Product”.⁴
Under the agreement, JTI also agreed to adopt a ‘zero tolerance policy’ on smuggling, to train its employees accordingly, and enforce an effective strategy in order to crack down on illicit tobacco trade. The company set up an internal illicit trade investigative unit made up of former senior law enforcement officers. In 2011, the not-for-profit Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported that investigators in JTI’s internal unit had been fired in 2010 for allegedly reporting “what they said were repeated instances of smuggling by distributors” and claiming that “senior JTI executives protected the smugglers by leaking information of ongoing investigations”.⁵
OLAF investigated the allegations and in April 2016 concluded there was no proof of involvement of JTI in any activities, stating:
“In July 2015, OLAF closed an investigation into the alleged involvement of JTI in the diversion of tobacco products from third countries into the EU, as well as possible non-compliance with the provisions of the Anti-fraud Agreement between JTI and the EU and its Member States of 2007. The investigation did not prove any involvement of any JTI entities or employees in illegal activities such as cigarette smuggling or diversion of cigarettes into the EU.”⁶

• For more information, see JTI Involvement in Smuggling.

However, tobacco control expert Luk Joossens and others have warned that the anti-illicit agreements between the EU and tobacco companies are inadequate in deterring tobacco industry’s involvement in illicit trade, and are threatening progress in tobacco control.⁷⁸⁹

• Also see Tobacco Smuggling

Helped Fight Tobacco Advertising Ban

In 1994 Bourassa headed the development of action plans to improve JTI’s capability to fight proposed Canadian advertising bans.¹⁰¹¹
One of the tasks that Bourassa was in charge of was “to pull together the best materials, argumentation and other tools available to win these fights”. He also was responsible for developing “advertorials and other materials to influence public opinion” against the advertising bans. Bourassa was assisted by Montreal law firm Mackenzie Gervais.

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Japan Tobacco International
• RJ Reynolds
• Tobacco Smuggling
• JTI Involvement in Smuggling
• Advertising Strategy