Formula 1, promotional showcase for the tobacco industry

A study published by STOP, a tobacco industry watchdog, denounces the close links between Formula 1 and cigarette companies. The latter continue to massively finance this motor sport, and thus ensure the promotion of their products to the younger generations.

The report Engine of addiction: tobacco sponsorship in Formula 1, based on data from Formula Money, shows that Formula 1 remains dependent on funding from Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT)[1].

More than $100 million of investment for Formula 1 in 2021

As STOP points out, there is very little data on F1 sponsorship figures available to the general public. According to Formula Money’s estimate, manufacturers PMI and BAT spent $105 million in 2021 to sponsor Formula 1, or €89 million. In exchange for this investment, the two cigarette companies benefit in particular from the media coverage of this sport, and a stronger presence of their brand on social networks. Also according to Formula Money’s estimates, BAT’s investment in 2021, estimated at $30 million, generated on-screen exposure worth $54 million.

Exposing younger generations to tobacco and vaping products

This sponsorship is all the more interesting for cigarette companies as Formula 1 is now seeking to extend its global reach and reach a younger audience, particularly by investing in new broadcast channels, such as the social network TikTok. The Netflix show Drive to survive, the development of esports video games have also helped popularize F1 among the new generation. Indeed, according to IPSOS, 61% of the new fans of this motor sport are under 35 and 36% are under 25. Thus, F1 can boast of having today the second highest proportion of fans under 25 of all world sports, after the NBA.

"Formula 1 is complicit in millions of deaths every year"

The links between Formula 1 and tobacco companies are not new. Until his resignation in December 2020, the former Ferrari CEO was also executive chairman of Philip Morris International. In 2020, a group of 101 international signatories, composed of non-governmental organizations and experts, called on Jean Todt, president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to end sponsorship between the tobacco industry and Formula 1. This practice is a violation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which prohibits all forms of advertising for tobacco products, including sponsorships. While this call for responsibility has remained a dead letter, Jean Todt’s term at the head of the FIA ends in December 2021. In this regard, STOP calls on the organization “to elect a new leadership worthy of a sport that has responsibilities towards a new generation of fans.” The tobacco industry's presence in motorsport is a major public health issue: according to Phil Chamberlain, a partner of STOP, "F1 is complicit in millions of deaths each year because it allows tobacco companies to perpetuate an epidemic through its media presence."

Keywords: Formula 1, Advertising, CCLAT

©Tobacco Free Generation

FT

[1] STOP, Formula One Continues To Make Millions by Helping Tobacco Companies Reach Young Fans, 08/25/2021, (accessed 08/30/2021)