MAY 5, 1997

... and Mosley has his say

MAX MOSLEY has spoken out against the continuing pressure to ban tobacco advertising in motorsport.

MAX MOSLEY has spoken out against the continuing pressure to ban tobacco advertising in motorsport. Visiting NewÊZealand to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand MotorSport Inc., the country's national sporting authority, Mosley said that there was no evidence to suggest that motor racing sponsorship increased the number of smokers. He argued a similar line to that of the cigarette companies which insist that sponsorship is about getting existing smokers to switch brands rather than recruiting new smokers.

The views do not accord with those of the World Health Organization and various national medical bodies around the world which say that motorsport is a prime location for the recruitment of new smokers.

Mosley cited Finland as an example, saying that although the Finns have a very strict ban on tobacco advertising of motorsport events, the number of smokers in the country had gone up.