PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy Policy

IMPERIAL BRANDS PLC (‘Imperial’, ‘we’ or ‘us’) is committed to protecting your privacy online. At Imperial, we appreciate that you do not want the personal information you provide to us distributed indiscriminately, and here we explain how we collect information, what we do with it and how we look after it. For the purpose of applicable data protection legislation, the data controller is Imperial Brands PLC (company no.3236483) whose registered office is at 121 Winterstoke Road, Bristol, BS3 2LL.  

This Privacy Notice was last updated on 19/05/23.    

If you would like a copy of the previous version of our Privacy Notices please contact us using the details in the contact us section.

What information do we collect?  

We collect and use the following information about you:  

  • Information that you provide by filling in forms on our website. This includes information provided at the time of starting to use our site, asking for information from us, signing up to our newsletter or other promotional materials, and providing information on feedback forms. We also ask you for information when you report a problem with our website. 
  • If you attend an event where we are filming or taking photographs, we may capture your image if you are in the designated area where we are recording.
  • If you contact us, we keep a record of that correspondence.   

How we use your personal information

Imperial will use the information you provide or that is generated about you to:   

  • To manage any queries you raise with us; 
  • Identify visitors to our website and to assess and improve the performance of our website;
  • Allow us to communicate with you for daily operational and business reasons;
  • Improve the content of our web page;
  • Carry out research on our customers’ demographics, interests and behaviour;
  • Where you have consented by signing up to our newsletter or other promotional materials, and where we are permitted to do so, send you information about our latest news, offers and events. (See the Marketing section below); 
  • Where your image has been captured at an event where we are recording in a designated area or if you have consented to the use of your image, we will use your image for internal and external promotional purposes which will appear on our website and/or other publications, including social media accounts.
  • Track and analyse activity on our website.
  • Conducting Surveys (see Survey section below).

Marketing

We will only contact you about our products if you request this from us.

Where appropriate and with your consent (by ticking the relevant boxes during the registration process), we may pass your information to our Imperial companies where you are located so that you receive further personalised information and service.  

You may ask us at any time not to use your information for marketing purposes by contacting us through our contact form.


Surveys

Where you have opted in to participate in a survey for us, you will be sent one email with a link to complete a survey questionnaire. All our surveys are anonymous and we will only retain your responses in an anonymous form to inform our understanding of product feedback.

Where we use a third party to deliver our surveys, such as SurveyMonkey, we will only share the personal data necessary to enable them to provide the services to you.

When using a third party to provide services directly, a separate privacy notice may be applicable and we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit, including where we have provided you with a link (for example, to a survey hosted by SurveyMonkey).

Events

We collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal information about you when you attend an event. If you are in the designated area at the events, where we or our authorised representatives will be taking photographs and video footage of the event, your image may be captured in those photographs and video footage. We will only collect this personal information if you are within the designated area that we are operating from and this area will be clearly signposted to confirm that photographs and video footage may be taken in the area.

If you do not want your image to appear in the photographs or video footage that we are collecting, please do not enter the area.

We may also approach you at events and ask you to sign a consent form where we intend to capture your image either outside of the designated area or outside the designated times or where the image clearly identifies you.

Where your image has been captured in the designated area or where you have consented for us to use your image – from an event or festival, we will use your image for internal and external promotional purposes which will appear on our website and/or other publications, including social media accounts.

These images will only be used and stored for 18 months after which they will be deleted. Where we rely on consent to use your image, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time by getting in contact with us using the contact details below.

Withdrawing your consent means that Imperial will thereafter not use your image in any future publications or for any further purpose, but you should be aware that your image may continue to appear in publications already in circulation or previously published for the permitted purposes.


Legal Basis 

Information Purpose Legal basis  
IP address and identification details To identify individuals to the site ensuring only adult smokers access the site.  Please see the Cookies Policy. Legitimate interests
Name, contact details, location   To correspond with you about our products and in response to your queries, and, with your consent, to send you marketing materials   Legitimate interests and, where applicable, consent  
Name, contact details, location To correspond with you about our products and in response to your queries, and, with your consent, to send you marketing materials   Legitimate interests and, where applicable, consent  
Age verification checks To ensure we are not aiming our products at people under the age of 18 or non-smokers   Legal obligation  
Lifestyle and social circumstances information Market research purposes   Legitimate interests
Tracking and profiling using cookies  /td> Site traffic analysis to improve content and services, profiling to deliver personalised content   Legitimate interests and, where applicable, consent  
Images For internal and external promotional purposes including appearing on our website and/or other publications, including social media accounts. Legitimate interests and, where applicable, consent  
Retention Archiving for statistical purposes and legal retention periods Legal obligation, dispute resolution and enforcing contracts  

We take appropriate steps to ensure that while we are doing this your information and your rights are protected.  


Automated Decisions

We make automated decisions about you using your personal information to verify your age when you enter the site.


How we store your personal information

We take the security of your personal information seriously.  We have security procedures in place to help us ensure that our paper and computer systems and databases are protected against unauthorised use, loss and damage.   

Our website may contain links to other sites which are outside our control. These websites will have their own privacy policies. Imperial is not responsible for the content of such websites or the protection and privacy of any information you provide on those websites.  

We retain your personal information for as long as you are a user of our website or as needed to provide you with the promotional and marketing materials you have given us permission to send you.  We will also retain and use your personal information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. All your contact details will be deleted within two years if your query has been solved.  


With whom is the information shared?

Imperial shares your personal information when we appoint other organisations to carry out some of the activities listed above on our behalf.  For example, data storage organisations, website hosting and marketing services providers, services involved in the shipment and delivery of products to you, and the collection and analysis of ratings, reviews and other feedback you provide about our products and services.  Some of these organisations may be Imperial Group companies and some of them may be third party companies (for example, we use SurveyMonkey to deliver our feedback surveys).  

Imperial may also disclose your personal information to public authorities, other businesses, financial organisations or law enforcement agencies for the prevention or detection of fraud, to comply with tax obligations, or if we are required or permitted to do so by law, or if we consider disclosure necessary to protect and defend the rights, property or personal safety of Imperial, the Rizla brand or other visitors to our website. 

Where we use third parties to process your personal information such as browsing history and general queries, we will ensure that they have adequate security measures in place to safeguard your personal information and that it is only used in accordance with this Privacy Notice.   

Imperial may give information we hold about you to third parties as part of the sale of Imperial or any of its group companies.  

Imperial will not disclose your information to third parties or group companies for marketing purposes, unless you’ve declared your willingness to participate in a specific campaign.  


Where we transfer your personal information

Imperial stores the personal information it collects or generates in the KSA.   

Your personal information will only be transferred to countries in the Gulf Area or where there is a similar level of protection for it, for instance, we ensure that we carry out appropriate due diligence on our sub-processors, and by having protective contractual agreements in place with them.  You can ask to see these arrangements by contacting us using the contact details below.  


Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses 

An IP address is the unique number assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider. Imperial keeps track of the IP address you are using to access our website. Imperial will track IP addresses in order to ensure the content you are viewing is compliant with the laws in the country where you are accessing our site. This IP identification is carried out by a third party (Virtual Influencer Agency) which will ensure you land on the correct page.  


Cookies

We collect website Usage Data and Technical Data automatically from your mobile or other device using cookies, web beacons and similar technologies.   

A cookie is a small file of numbers and letters that we put on your mobile or other device if you agree.  These cookies allow us to distinguish you from other visitors to our website and tells us how you are using our website.  Some cookies are necessary to provide you with a good experience as you browse; others help us to gather information that informs how we can improve our website for you.  

You can block cookies at any time by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse some or all cookies. If you refuse cookies, there may be parts of our website that you cannot access or that will not function properly.  

Our cookies help to:  


  • Make our website work as you would expect; 
  • Remember your settings during and between visits;
  • Improve your and other users’ experiences;
  • Allow you to sign up to receive product information and updates; and improve the speed/security of our website. 

For more information about our use of cookies, please see our cookies policy here.

Links to third-party websites

Our website and emails may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications (such as Facebook and Twitter). Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you.  We do not control these third-party links and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.


Your rights

You have a right within certain legal parameters to:


  • The right to be informed;  
  • The right to be access;  
  • The right to be rectification;  
  • The right to be erasure;  
  • The right to be restrict processing;  
  • The right to be data portability;  
  • The right to be object  
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

If we have asked you and you have given us permission to use your personal information in any particular way, you have the right to withdraw that permission at any time. 

To exercise any of the rights above, please complete the form on our contact section of this website. 

If you have any questions, concerns or comments about the use of your personal information or relating to this Privacy Notice you should contact us by completing the form on our contact section of this website. 
If you have a complaint about how we have used your information, you have the right to complain to the  Information Commissioner’s Office  https://ico.org.uk/


Contact Us

By post:  


Customer Services   


Imperial Brands PLC   


121 Winterstoke Road   


Bristol   


BS3 2LL


By email:      consumer.services@uk.imptob.com


Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may make changes to this Privacy Notice at any time.  We will do this by sending you an email or by posting an updated version of the Privacy Notice on our website.  We recommend that you check this page from time to time to ensure that you are aware of any changes.