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Eurocare calls for F1 alcohol sponsorship ban

Lobby group Eurocare has increased its calls for the sponsorship of alcohol brands in Formula 1 to be banned following an estimated US$150m deal with Heineken.

Alcohol sponsorship in Formula 1 has long-been a contentious issue

Following the announcement of Heineken’s five-year sponsorship of F1, Eurocare argued that alcohol brands are now “dominating sponsorships in F1”, linking motorsports to “one of the major killers on our roads”.

The group therefore addressed an open letter to Jean Todt, president of Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of motorsports, calling for an end to alcohol sponsorship in F1.

It has been signed by 40 public health and civil society organisations from around the world.

Mariann Skar, Secretary General in the European Alcohol Policy Alliance, otherwise known as Eurocare, said: “F1 should ask themselves if they want to be a motorsport or an alcohol brand event?

“When monitoring F1 in Monaco Grand Prix 2015, we found 11 references to alcohol brands per minute, averaging one reference every five seconds. How will it be when Heineken comes in as main sponsor in addition to the others?

“If both the sport and the drinks producers want to be seen as responsible industries, they should stop this deal and move away from alcohol sponsorship in F1.”

Last year, a report by Eurocare, called Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship in Formula One: A Dangerous Cocktail, said the “dangerous cocktail” of sponsorships by groups such as Diageo and Martini in Formula One should be banned as a matter of “common sense”.

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