Australia to Ban Tobacco Sports Sponsorship (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

The Australian

  Smoke signals face blanket ban
  By JOHN KERIN and CATHY PRYOR

  23sep98

  A BLANKET ban on tobacco sponsorship at international sporting events in
  Australia from 2006 spelled the "death knell" of the industry's
involvement in sport
  around the world, Federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge said yesterday. 

  The announcement of the ban, which for the first time includes Formula One
  car-racing, coincided with the release of a study claiming that anti-smoking
  campaigns had paid off, with ex-smokers outnumbering smokers. 

  Dr Wooldridge said the ban would signal an end to the excuse that governments
  could not take on the tobacco industry because prestige events would be lost. 

  "What we have done is something that hasn't been done anywhere in the
world," he
  said. 

  "I hate tobacco sponsorship, but I've always been worried that I didn't
want to lose
  the sporting events . . . the grand prix is great for Melbourne. 

  "But this will remove from health ministers, premiers, prime ministers in
other
  countries the excuse that they have to have tobacco advertising. I think
we'll see it
  as the death knell for tobacco advertising of sport right round the world." 

  The University of Sydney study, Trends in Australian Smoking Cessation
  1995-1998, was conducted by academics from the University of Sydney and
  surveyed 1200 smokers and non-smokers aged over 18 from around the country. 

  The study, commissioned by nicotine-patch manufacturer SmithKline Beecham,
  suggested the campaigns may have whittled down smokers to hard-core addicts. 

  The study's co-author and director of the Smoking Research Unit at the
University
  of Sydney, Renee Bittoun, said the findings suggested "quit" campaigns had
  siphoned off smokers who were less dependent on a nicotine fix but the
"hard core
  addicts" had been left behind. 

  "People coming to seek help are far more addicted than they have ever been
  before," she said. 

  While anti-smoking groups and the Opposition supported the move, at least one
  event organiser predicted the Ladies Masters Golf tournament could be lost to
  Asia. 

  Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix organiser Ron Walker said the ban shouldn't
  pose a problem, because of the long lead time given to find alternative
sponsors. 

  Confederation of Australian Sport chief executive Steve Haynes said that
if tobacco
  sponsorship were lost, then a national sponsorship foundation should be
  established to replace the funding through tobacco excise. 

  Formula One's governing body, the Federation Internationale de
L'Automobile, has
  agreed to the phasing out of tobacco advertising by 2006. 

  Tobacco advertising and sponsorship have been banned for domestic sporting
  events since 1992, but exemptions have been granted to events which would have
  been lost by Australia. 

  These include the Formula One grand prix, the Australian Motorcycle Grand
Prix at
  Phillip Island, the Australian Indy Car Championship on the Gold Coast, Rally
  Australia in Western Australia and the Ladies Masters Golf Tournament.