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162 health groups urge Formula One to stop nicotine pouch sponsorships by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco, citing the impact on young fans.
McLaren’s Lando Norris (AFP)
Formula One loves to say it’s building the next generation of fans. Now 162 health groups are asking: at what cost?
In sharply worded letters to Formula One Group and its commercial partners, campaigners have urged the sport to slam the brakes on nicotine pouch sponsorships — accusing tobacco giants of piggybacking on F1’s youth boom.
At the centre of the storm: Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco. PMI backs Scuderia Ferrari with its Zyn brand, while BAT sponsors McLaren F1 Team via Velo. Their logos are splashed across cars, race suits and even special liveries, including at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Critics say that’s a problem when your audience now includes millions of kids.
“By sponsoring F1 teams, tobacco companies are seeking to reach the same young people Formula One has worked hard to attract,” wrote groups including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Lung Association.
I mean, it is funny how F1 is partnering with Lego and nicotine in the same breath.
Campaigners also contacted youth-heavy F1 partners like The Walt Disney Company, The LEGO Group and Mattel (maker of Hot Wheels), urging them to rethink their trackside company.
F1 though says it follows the law. Tobacco firms say they only market to adults. McLaren notes its digital ads are age-restricted. Ferrari stayed quiet.
But here’s the awkward stat: nearly four million children aged 8–12 across the U.S. and EU now actively follow F1, a surge powered in part by Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
Yolonda Richardson of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids didn’t mince words: the goal, she said, is still to “addict young people… and make them lifelong addicts.”
F1 wanted a younger audience. It got one. Now the question is who else gets a seat in the paddock.
(with Reuters inputs)
March 04, 2026, 8:49 PM IST
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