/R E P E A T -- MEDIA INVITATION - Imperial Tobacco CEO speaks on industry challenges and marijuana regulation/

TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Empire Club of Canada invites media representatives to its September 28 luncheon with guest speaker, Jorge Araya, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada.

Imperial Tobacco Canada, the largest tobacco company in the country, has run its business in an increasingly complex and challenging marketplace since 1908. Today it faces government expropriation of its branding, aggressive competition from a contraband tobacco industry that comprises more than 30 per cent of the market in Ontario, and a soon-to-be-legalized marijuana market.

Mr. Araya will discuss these challenges, and particularly the concern that an absence of legal tobacco branding is likely to result in consumers migrating to contraband products. He will also discuss the company's enthusiasm for less-risky tobacco and nicotine products, and the inconsistencies between proposed regulatory approaches for tobacco and marijuana.

What:	The Empire Club of Canada September 28 luncheon with guest speaker
	Jorge Araya, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada
Where:	One King West Hotel
	Toronto
When:	Thursday, September 28, 2017
Time:	12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
	One-on-one media interviews will be possible, on request, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
RSVP:	See contact info below. Media who do not RSVP will not be able to receive a lunch. Please note any dietary restrictions when confirming your presence.

SOURCE Imperial Tobacco Canada

To book an interview or to reserve a place at the luncheon, please contact: Karen Parucha, Torchia Communications, E: [email protected] | O: 416 341-9929 Ext. 228 | C: 416 898-4336; Mary Moniz, Torchia Communications, E: [email protected] | O: 416 341-9929 Ext. 221