Anti-smoking groups say they are outraged at the inclusion of British American Tobacco (BAT) in a best workplace competition.
BAT's participation in the JRA Best Workplace Awards, where it was a finalist in the small to medium workplace category, was a cynical corporate social responsibility stunt, said Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) director Ben Youdan.
The company should be cut from the competition, he said.
"This is a classical move by the tobacco industry to present itself as a normal business.
They no longer succeed in making smoking appear normal, so they're putting effort in to making themselves seem like a respectable corporate entity," said Youdan.
Anti-tobacco organisation Te Reo Marama director Shane Bradbrook said any company that sold a deadly product should not be eligible for such an award.
Companies must register themselves for the awards.
JRA managing director John Robertson said BAT was a finalist based on its employee feedback.
"The selection process does not involve any subjective judgment or contribution by JRA," he said.
It was not JRA's place to make a value judgment on the business activities of any of our participants, he said.
BAT was not available for comment.
