Driving More Addiction: Philip Morris International’s Reappearance on F1 Cars Marks 50 Years of Using F1 to Sell Addictive, Harmful Products

New York, United States, December 8, 2025 – Tobacco industry watchdog, STOP, today condemned the return of Philip Morris International (PMI) product branding for Zyn on Ferrari F1 cars, starting in the last race of the 2025 season in Abu Dhabi.

“Since PMI bought Zyn, it has worked aggressively to accelerate sales of this addictive product. Now it brings its global advertising campaign to F1, trying to mask addiction in the imagery of sport and innovation. But make no mistake, Zyn is not harmless. We know nicotine is addictive and especially harmful to the developing brains of children and youth,” said Jorge Alday, Director of STOP at Vital Strategies.

Alday continued: “Five decades of using F1 to sell addiction is nothing to celebrate. By increasing rather than ending its global audience’s exposure to branding for these addictive, harmful products, F1 risks putting millions of children on a fast track to addiction and ill health.”

Formula One has been working to grow by reaching a younger and more globally diverse audience. That goal lines up squarely with the plans of the big cigarette companies, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco, to recuit new users. F1 now has more fans among children and youth, women, and people in low- and middle-income countries than ever before, giving industry a track to reach these audiences and grow sales.

Cigarette companies have spent an estimated $4.6 billion over the last 57 years to get their brands in front of consumers through F1. Sponsorship in the sport subverts national tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship laws. Social media and global streaming platforms are among the channels delivering F1 content featuring the industry’s brands into countries where these products or their advertising is banned or tightly restricted to protect the next generation. This includes bans and restrictions on nicotine pouches like Zyn, enacted due to concerns about use among young people.

Alday concludes: “For years now, health and youth advocates have called on F1’s owners and regulators to end cigarette company advertising and sponsorship. This is further evidence the sport remains stuck in reverse, complicit in selling the same addiction to millions of people around the world.”

STOP has published a series of four “Driving Addiction” reports examining the return of cigarette company advertising in F1 since 2018. The first examined the resurgence of tobacco spending in the sport. The second, tobacco companies’ reach among young F1 fans on social media. The third exposed how Netflix had become a vehicle for tobacco industry advertising, and the fourth, how the sport’s strategy to capture a young, diverse global audience – including children – aligns perfectly with tobacco companies seeking new routes to reach those people with their harmful products. Key findings in the fourth report included:

• Over 4 million American and European children between the ages of 8 and 12 follow F1
• Amid growing concern about children and youth uptake of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, “F1 Kids” is exposing young viewers to Vuse e-cigarette and Velo nicotine pouch brands
• New deals between Formula One and Lego and Formula One and Hasbro may have increased the sport’s visibility among children
• The majority of the sport’s followers on TikTok and 40% on Instagram are aged under 25 years.

Please contact the STOP press office for more information or to speak to a STOP spokesperson.