NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Motorsport / Formula 1

Motorsport: Europe forcing F1 to kick tobacco habit

By by Nick Mulvenney
11 Jan, 2005 09:22 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Formula One, already cutting costs to fend off a financial crisis among smaller teams, will this year be forced to face the reality that the era of dependence on tobacco sponsorship is drawing to a close.

The governing International Automobile Federation estimated in 2002 that tobacco companies contributed US$350 million
($510 million) a year to motorsport and it is fair to assume Formula One took the lion's share.

From July 31, a European Union directive will outlaw all print advertising, radio advertising and event sponsorship by tobacco companies.

Although other sports, such as snooker and darts, will be affected, Formula One will be by far the hardest hit.

"If we lose tobacco sponsorship in Formula One there will be a rupture," Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said before last season. "People don't realise how bad it would be."

Half of the 10 teams in Formula One - Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Jordan and BAR - were substantially backed by cigarette brands last year.

Formula One had originally agreed to a voluntary global ban at the end of next year.

FIA president Max Mosley said last year that the EU ban had driven some races outside Europe.

World champions Ferrari, who benefit to the tune of $60 million a year from their long-running deal with Phillip Morris' Marlboro brand, have said they would continue with tobacco sponsorship for as long as they could.

BAR were founded by British American Tobacco (BAT), but after investing many millions of pounds - 87 million in 2003 - BAT are looking to get out of motorsport and have sold 45 per cent of the team to engine suppliers Honda.

A report in December said that McLaren were going to drop title sponsors West cigarettes.

The team responded that they would carry the brand on their cars when the season opened in Australia on March 6, but the deal might not last much beyond the EU ban.

Williams gave up tobacco sponsorship at the end of the 1999 season and one of their current backers is the NiQuitin CQ brand of products, which help people to give up smoking.

"We did it because we knew the axe would be coming down, but we didn't know when or how," Williams' head of marketing, Jim Wright, said.

"To continue would have been gambling on our financial future."

Team owner Frank Williams said last year that sponsorship from non-cigarette companies was worth 25 to 30 per cent less than from tobacco companies.

"I think what he meant by that was tobacco companies were prepared to pay a premium for certain packages that companies that weren't restricted would not," Wright said.

One way in which F1 might avoid the European ban is by holding grands prix in new countries. China and Bahrain were added to the calendar last year, while Turkey joins this season.

These countries sometimes offer less restrictive rules on tobacco sponsorship and, importantly for the cigarette companies, a high profile in developing economies.

"The tobacco companies are already established in the developing world," said Deborah Arnott of British pressure group Action on Smoking and Health.

"There are about five million people a year dying from smoking-related diseases and that is split about 50-50 between the developed and the undeveloped world.

"By 2030 that will be 10 million, but the split will be 30 per cent in the developed world and 70 per cent in the developing world."

For many years teams have raced without tobacco liveries at some races and restored it for races where the local laws allow it, but that may soon no longer be an option for the seven teams based or with major operations in Britain.

Depending on interpretation of the British law that enforces the EU directive, it could allow prosecution of any British-based team carrying tobacco sponsorship abroad if race images are broadcast in Britain.

Last month's report that said McLaren would be ending their association with West suggested Diageo's Johnnie Walker whiskey brand would take over as title sponsors.

Drinks companies might seem a natural replacement for tobacco sponsors - global brands looking to identify with a glamorous sport.

The fact that French legislation banning advertising of alcohol at sports events was ratified by the European Court of Justice last July, however, means Formula One might end up travelling down a familiar road in a few years' time.

- REUTERS

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Formula 1

Premium
OpinionAlex Powell

Alex Powell: Why Lawson's F1 future is about more than just results

Formula 1

Exclusive: Liam Lawson likely to keep Racing Bulls seat for 2026

Premium
Formula 1

Christian Horner: A row with Max Verstappen's dad, then a tearful goodbye


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Formula 1

Premium
Premium
Alex Powell: Why Lawson's F1 future is about more than just results
Alex Powell
OpinionAlex Powell

Alex Powell: Why Lawson's F1 future is about more than just results

OPINION: The Kiwi is likely to be retained by Red Bull for 2026.

14 Jul 06:00 PM
Exclusive: Liam Lawson likely to keep Racing Bulls seat for 2026
Formula 1

Exclusive: Liam Lawson likely to keep Racing Bulls seat for 2026

14 Jul 02:13 AM
Premium
Premium
Christian Horner: A row with Max Verstappen's dad, then a tearful goodbye
Formula 1

Christian Horner: A row with Max Verstappen's dad, then a tearful goodbye

10 Jul 07:25 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP