Prevent Tobacco Sponsorship of Formula 1 in Turkey!
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| FIA Present Max Mosley | Formula 1 owner Bernie Ecclestone |
TAKE ACTION - SEND FREE FAXES TO ECCLESTONE & MOSLEY!
Demand
that Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Formula One:
1) Promote public health -- not the "Merchants of
Death"! (do not violate or weaken Turkey's 1996 tobacco advertising
ban)
2) Issue an official public announcement to confirm that Formula One races in Instanbul, Turkey in 2005 WILL NOT carry any tobacco advertising
Send a FAX: Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One owner
http://petition.globalink.org/view.php?code=turkey0828bSend a FAX: Max Mosley, President, Federation Internationale de l'Automobile
http://petition.globalink.org/view.php?code=turkey0828aSend a FAX: Turkish Prime Minister Mr Abdullah Gul
http://petition.globalink.org/view.php?code=turkey0212
Brief background:
- Formula One races have long been integral to the tobacco industry's worldwide marketing efforts. A recent survey of 13-17 year olds in Turkey (n=6000) found that 50% of teenagers have seen tobacco advertising on race cars, and that the more exposed a teenager is to internationally-televised automobile races, the more likely they are to smoke.
- In 2002, the Turkish Automobile Federation applied to host a Formula One World Championship in Turkey. It obtained the official endorsement of the Turkish government. The Federation promised that the Championship will be tobacco-free, per an agreement between FIA and the World Health Organization -- but WHO denies that such an agreement exists.
- A member of the Turkish Parliament proposed a bill to exempt Formula One races from the country's tobacco advertising ban, which was established in 1996. The Turkish public health community successful campaigned against this attempt to render the tobacco advertising ban ineffective, and the bill was withdrawn in May 2002.
- In a letter Max Mosley, President of the Federation Internationale de l'Automible, sent Essential Action on 13 September, 2002, he said,"We always obey the law in each country we visit." He further stated that, "We would not attempt to hold a Formula One race in a country where [tobacco sponsorship] is not allowed."
- In the fall of 2002, the Formula One Administration formally announced that it will hold races in Instanbul, Turkey in 2005, one year before the Administration's pledge to end all tobacco industry sponsorship. Turkish tobacco control advocates are worried that efforts to exempt Formula One from Turkey's tobacco advertising ban will now be aggressivley resumed. They want an official statement from Formula One organizers and owners the races in Turkey will be TOBACCO INDUSTRY - FREE!
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On March 5, 1998, the eve of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Mr. Mosley announced that Formula One would end its use of tobacco sponsorship by 2002, if it could be shown that tobacco advertising encourages people to smoke. While significant evidence was shared with Formula One, including internal tobacco industry documents that attest to the importance of Formula One in recruiting new smokers, Formula One failed to live up to its public promise.
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In the fall of 2002, when Belgium refused to exempt Formula One from its tobacco sponsorship ban (due to come into effect in August 2003), Formula One dropped the Belgian Grand Prix. The BBC reported on November 4, 2002, that Mr. Mosley is strongly encouraging Belgium to adjust its laws to allow for a resumption of the Grand Prix in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Similarly, the UK's new tobacco advertising ban exempts Formula One until 2006.
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Five Formula One teams -- Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Jordan and British American Racing -- currently have tobacco industry sponsorship. There is no good reason that these teams can not find alternative sources of funding by 2005, one year in advance of Formula One's current pledge to phase out all tobacco sponsorship.
For more
information about Formula One and tobacco see:
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/advspo/html/formula_one.html
Correspondence on the issue:
1. Letters
from the Turkish National Committee on Tobacco and Health to:
Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One owner
Max Mosley, President, Federation Internationale
de l'Automobile
2. Form letters
faxed via Essential Action/Globalink by 40 people, starting on 8/28/02,
to:
Bernie Ecclestone, Max
Mosley
3. Form letters faxed via Essential Action/Globalink by 30-50 people, starting on 9/12/02, to: Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley
4. Form letters
faxed via Essential Action/Globalink, starting on 12/4/02, to:
Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley, Turkish
Prime Minister Mr Abdullah Gul
Essential
Action
Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
P.O. Box 19405 ~ Washington,
DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030 ~ Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: tobacco@essential.org
www.essentialaction.org/tobacco