McLaren is facing issues with one of its sponsors regarding tobacco at Zandvoort
The McLaren team could have a problem at the Dutch GP with its sponsor Velo, which is displayed on the wing of its cars. The Advertising Code Commission has been notified because this group sells snus, a banned product.
The Formula 1 comeback is approaching, but it might not be smooth sailing for McLaren. Just a week before the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, the Heart Foundation, the KWF (Dutch Cancer Foundation), and the Lung Foundation have filed a complaint with the advertising code commission. The issue at hand is the presence of the sponsor “Velo” on the cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, which is a brand of snus.
This snuff powder, packaged in sachets, is stronger in nicotine and more aggressive than cigarettes and is prohibited in almost all of the European Union in its tobacco-containing form. Widely used in the world of football, tobacco-free snus is feared because it is highly concentrated in nicotine and highly addictive, and countries have only recently started legislating its consumption. Among the first, the Netherlands has already taken action since last spring and is leading a fight against this product from Scandinavia.
Will Velo appear on the MCL60 at Zandvoort?
In the Netherlands, the sale of products containing nicotine is prohibited when they contain more than 0.035 milligrams of nicotine. In the case of snus, it is much higher. However, advertising for this product is not yet banned and is even common: « This shows that the tobacco industry is doing everything it can to make young people addicted, » said Carla van Gils, director of KWF, to the national newspaper De Telegraaf.
So, the sponsor of the British team is expected to appear on the MCL60 during the upcoming weekend and for the moment the Advertising Code Commission does not yet know if it will rule on the matter. On their side, the team in question as well as British American Tobacco, the world’s second largest tobacco producer and the originator of “Velo”, have not reacted.
Note that due to strong regulations against tobacco advertising, including the Evin law in France, McLaren has released most of its official photos in two versions. One with the Velo brand and another without the brand, to comply with countries where tobacco advertising is prohibited.
