Hawaii AG leads effort to end nicotine sponsorships in racing

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii is one of several states pushing to stop tobacco companies from advertising in Formula 1 racing.

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Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Monday that the state is co-leading a group of attorneys general from 19 states and jurisdictions in calling on the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA, and Formula 1 to end all sponsorships involving tobacco and nicotine products.

“We cannot allow tobacco and nicotine companies to use the excitement and popularity of Formula 1 racing to market addictive products to young audiences,” Lopez said. “These sponsorships risk normalizing nicotine use for a new generation and run counter to decades of public health efforts aimed at reducing youth addiction.”

The , urging them to terminate all existing sponsorships involving nicotine pouches, like Zyn and Velo.

The letter says, in part, “After decades free from most tobacco advertising, young fans are now being exposed to prominent advertising for highly addictive nicotine pouches.”

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The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement restricted tobacco advertising practices that targeted minors, including sports sponsorships. However, there has been a recent reemergence of ads as companies started selling oral nicotine pouches.

According to Formula 1, viewership among children and teens has increased significantly in recent years. The group who sent the letter argues that as viewership trends younger for racing, the standard must also be raised for the type of advertising that can be shown.

The letter goes on to say, “Just as marketing boosts youth use, data clearly shows that bans on tobacco advertising significantly reduces the risk of smoking initiation.”

Lopez is co-leading this effort with Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark. They are joined by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington State.

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