Driving Addiction: A Race for Future Generations

Because its products kill half of its customers, the tobacco industry must stay on the hunt for new users. F1 appears all too willing for Big Tobacco to reach its audience.

A new report in STOP’s “Driving Addiction” series exposes how the sport’s strategy to capture a young and diverse audience aligns perfectly with tobacco companies seeking new routes to reach those people with their harmful products.

Particularly concerning is British American Tobacco’s e-cigarette and nicotine pouch brands appearing on F1 Kids, whose expanded programming features child-friendly content like avatars for drivers.

Formula One recently announced a partnership with toy giant, LEGO. Though the toy-brick versions of the race cars may not feature tobacco advertising, they could spark more youth interest in F1, which makes little effort to protect its audience from Big Tobacco’s advertising. Adding to these concerns is the news that Formula One has signed a multi-year deal with Mattel, Inc.

Big Tobacco is benefiting from F1’s increased use of historic race footage, which features cars plastered with cigarette ads for brands such as Marlboro that today are banned. These old cars and liveries will also feature in a new Netflix miniseries on Ayrton Senna, and modern liveries may end up in an upcoming film starring Brad Pitt. Along with the rising popularity of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” series, these big budget productions demonstrate interest in F1 is expanding into new demographics, especially women and children.

What can be done?

• F1’s rights holder Liberty Media, the Ferrari and McLaren teams, and F1’s governing body must kick Big Tobacco out of the sport;
• Entertainment companies should reconsider using historic images that feature tobacco brands;
• And governments should regulate F1 content that violates advertising and sponsorship bans.

Download Driving Addiction: A Race for Future Generations for more insight.