New STOP report about how Formula One is “Driving Addiction”

A new report by tobacco watchdog STOP titled “Driving Addiction: A Race for Future Generations” exposes how tobacco companies Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) collaborate with Formula One (F1) racing to reach “increasingly young, global and diverse” audiences for their products.

The report details how F1’s strategy to target “younger fans and more female viewers across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas” aligns with the goals of BAT and PMI. For example, to reach young people F1 has partnered with toy brand LEGO and has developed race coverage content for children, “F1 Kids”, which features BAT e-cigarette and nicotine pouch branding as well as gambling and alcohol advertising.

Director of STOP at Vital Strategies, Jorge Alday, says of the F1 tobacco partnership:

“It’s a fast track to addiction, pure and simple. Regulators need to step up because the tobacco companies have no incentive to stop and F1 appears ever more complicit. With F1’s global reach, every country should hold the sport, its broadcasters and social media platforms accountable for helping tobacco companies advertise to kids.”

• Read the full report here.
• Find out more about motorsport sponsorship.