[Intl-tobacco] Europe: Formula One: who needs tobacco? (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

Formula One: who needs tobacco?
As new money floods into racing, Ministers are urged to axe Ecclestone's ad ban
exemption
by Ben Summerskill / society editor
ben.summerskill@observer.co.uk
Source: The Guardian, Sunday, 1/7/01

New research suggests there is no threat to the future of Formula One
racing from the axeing of tobacco sponsorship. The evidence, from a
Europe-wide study, will embarrass the Labour Party, which delayed a ban
for three years shortly after receiving a £1 million gift from Formula One
boss Bernie Ecclestone.

'Non-tobacco sponsors are flooding to Formula One,' said analyst Simon
Rines of International Marketing Reports. 'Many races have a global TV
audience of 400 million. Major teams are being easily funded by
alternative sources. It seems curious that this exemption should be
needed.'

Tobacco sponsorship is down to £170m this year, with technology and
communications firms already providing about £80m to Formula One teams,
according to IMR. But the motor industry is also investing £296m a season,
and the research suggests it will happily take up the slack left by
tobacco.

'If anything,' Rines said, 'it appears that some potential sponsors
actually don't want to be associated with tobacco sponsorship. The future
is looking very bright for the sport.'

Banning tobacco sponsorship and advertising was a 1997 manifesto pledge of
the Labour Party. All other sports except Formula One have been given
until 2003 to cut links with the tobacco industry. The concession for
motor racing - no ban until October 2006 - was made after Ecclestone
lobbied Ministers.

Peter Brand, a GP, Liberal Democrat MP and member of the All Party Group
on Smoking and Health, said: 'I was extraordinarily suspicious of the
Bernie Ecclestone connection. We should now introduce a ban with immediate
effect.'

A spokesman for Ash, the anti-tobacco campaign, said: 'One hundred and
twenty thousand people a year are still dying in Britain from
tobacco-related diseases. 'This exemption for Formula One should never
have been allowed.  This conclusive evidence that the exemption was
entirely unnecessary has raised a very serious and rather unpleasant
element of doubt as to why the Government gave in so easily to pressure
after receiving such a large donation.'

The 'cash for access' scandal erupted in December 1997 when it was
disclosed that Ecclestone had made his seven-figure gift in the run-up to
the last General Election. After being accused of caving in to commercial
pressure, Labour returned the money.

A Bill to enforce the delayed ban is earmarked for passage through
Parliament before a spring General Election. As well as ending
sponsorship, it will ban the advertising of cigarettes on billboards and
in cinemas, newspapers and magazines.

Among the new technology funders of Formula One players, Compaq is to back
the Williams team and Yahoo! will support Prost. Previously Prost received
£16m a year from Seita, the manufacturer of Gauloises cigarettes.

The only British sport that IMR says might suffer seriously after a ban on
tobacco sponsorship is snooker. 'But this is principally because of the
game's image,' said Rines. 'It has not worked hard enough to market
itself.'

It is not only the Labour Party which has links to tobacco sponsorship.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke is deputy chairman
of British American Tobacco and Lady Thatcher is an 'international
adviser' to Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes.