Sponsorship

Tobacco companies have concentrated sponsorship on successful, high-profile sports in order to ensure maximum coverage for their products. These sports are extremely attractive to sponsors and other companies have gradually replaced sponsorship from tobacco companies without difficulty. Even Formula One, the sport most reliant on tobacco, announced in 1998 that it could replace its tobacco sponsorship within four years.

Certain governing bodies, notably the Football Association, decided some time ago not to take sponsorship from tobacco companies. 

Formula One threaten U-turn on tobacco sponsorship pledge
Having pledged a ban on tobacco sponsorship by 2006 to the World Health Organisation last year, the FIA now seems set to renege on its agreement. Here, ASH looks at the arguments presented by Max Mosely, president of Federation Internationale d'Automobile (FIA) for threatening to go back on their commitment, and examines the validity behind them.

Author: ASH Published By: ASH Published : 23/02/2003

Voluntary Agreement on Tobacco Sponsorship
In the absence of any meaningful legislation on tobacco sponsorship, it has for many years been regulated by voluntary agreement between the Government and the tobacco industry. These agreements have, in the words of the House of Commons Health Select Committee “Served the industry well”, as they have been able to circumvent the sprit of the rules almost at will, with little sanction possible against them. They are, however, at present the only mechanism available for holding the tobacco industry to account

Author: ASH Published By: ASH Published : 31/12/2000

Press Release: Driving business through sport
This is an extract of a specialist report Driving Business Through Sport by Simon Rines of International Marketing Reports. This analyses the European sports sponsorship scene and examines the likely impact of the end of tobacco sponsorship. The conclusion: there are plenty of alternative sponsors waiting to take over from Big Tobacco

Author: ASH Published By: ASH Published : 30/11/2000

ASH Research Report (Australia): Tobacco sponsorship in sport
The tobacco industry claims that an end to tobacco sponsorship of sport would damage the sports which are sponsored. To debunk this myth, ASH commissioned this case study of what happened in Australia when sponsorship was banned in 1996. In fact, sponsorship of sport increased in the years following a tobacco ban

Author: Stephen Woodward Published By: ASH Published : 26/10/2000

Evidence to the FIA regarding the impact of tobacco sponsorship on smoking
Formula One's governing body (the FIA) asked for more evidence linking tobacco sponsorship and increased smoking. Here is ASH's contribution. The FIA says it will phase out tobacco sponsorship globally in line with EU proposals if it is convinced of the link.

Author: ASH Published By: ASH Published : 31/08/1999

Editorial: Tobacco sponsorship of sport
A short overview of the issues in tobacco sponsorship of sport published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (1999: 33(5): 299-300

Author: Clive Bates Published By: British Journal of Sports Medicine Published : 31/12/1998

Formula One and Tobacco: The world's most dangerous sport
Evidence to the governing body of Formula One (the FIA) on why tobacco sponsorship increases smoking. This followed a promise from the FIA that it would phase out tobacco sponsorship if a link between tobacco sponsorship and extra smoking could be demonstrated

Author: ASH Published By: ASH Published : 08/09/1998

Health Select Committee on tobacco sponsorship
Scathing criticism from the UK Parliamentary Health Select Committee - in which it is revealed that tobacco companies sponsor Formula One to the tune of £200-300 million per year. The report quotes an advertising agency which made an estimate of the advertising value of news coverage of tobacco-sponsored races. June 2000

BBC coverage of FIA u-turn
Article by the BBC on proposals by Formula One to make a U-turn on its plans to outlaw tobacco advertising in 2006, the sport's boss Max Mosley has admitted for the first time.

Tobacco sponsorship of motor sport: achieving an effective ban by worldwide agreement in 2006
The FIA, world-governing body of motor sport, and responsible for regulating the major international motor sport championships made a policy decision not to receive sponsorship from the tobacco industry in April 2002. Its policy also outlines how the sport will achieve an effective worldwide ban by 2006.