Auto Organization Announce Voluntary Tobacco Ban

Auto Racing Organization Announces Ban on Tobacco Ads, Sponsorships

Formula One Faces 2006 Ban on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship

Seville, Spain, October 5, 2000 - The International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced that it will voluntarily put a world-wide ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorships in Formula One and other international motor sports beginning at the end of 2006, regardless of the recent decision by the European Court of Justice to annul the EU directive banning tobacco advertising and sponsorship [click here for story]. FIA made this announcement before the court ruling, but it had anticipated the decision. FIA had said that although the European Court will likely overturn the ban, motor sports is facing an "increasingly limited tolerance of tobacco advertising and sponsorship."

According to Financial Times, the FIA's decision to impose this ban can be traced back to March 5, 1998, when it said that, if presented with evidence of a direct link between tobacco advertising/sponsorship and smoking, it would act to eliminate tobacco advertising/sponsorship from Formula One. At the time, FIA had said that if "convincing evidence" were to be offered to show that the promotion of tobacco through Formula One is responsible for persuading people who would not otherwise smoke to take up the habit, then it would eliminate it in 2002.

FIA recently observed that the commercial sponsorship situation in motor sports is very unstable and unpredictable. As a result, FIA added that it was better for them to prepare for the elimination of tobacco advertising and sponsorship than be caught having to scramble for additional sources of revenue to replace the considerable backing it currently receives from cigarette companies.

Formula One is estimated to attract approximately 600 million viewers each year. Tobacco companies spend approximately $30 million to sponsor a racing car, but receive far more in return on television advertising time. One recent study in the U.S. found that there were nearly 6,000 sightings or comments regarding a tobacco company product name or logo during a ninety minute broadcast of a major racing event.

Nate Allen