Campaigners say Big Tobacco targets kids via F1, call for sponsorship ban

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

LONDON -- Formula One, followed by millions of children worldwide, should bar sponsorship deals with tobacco companies seeking to drive uptake of addictive nicotine pouches, 162 anti-tobacco and health groups said in letters to the sport’s commercial rights holder and partners.

Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco sponsor the Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren F1 teams respectively with their Zyn and Velo nicotine pouch labels - partnerships the campaign groups say conflict with F1’s push to expand its youth audience.

In December, Zyn’s partnership with Ferrari was expanded to include additional races and branding on car livery, while BAT’s Velo branding is visible across F1 events, including drivers’ suits and cars, with special livery for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“By sponsoring F1 teams, tobacco companies are seeking to reach the same young people Formula One has worked hard to attract,” organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Lung Association wrote in letters viewed by Reuters.

“Formula One must not be complicit in these efforts,” said the letter addressed to commercial rights holder the Formula One Group. Campaigners also sent letters to F1 partners with large youth followings such as Disney and Lego, calling for a ban on nicotine pouch sponsorships.

Responding to concerns over such sponsorships given the sport’s growing youth audience, Formula One Group said it complies with all applicable laws. McLaren noted BAT’s digital activities are age-restricted, while Scuderia Ferrari did not respond. The Formula One Group, F1 teams and F1’s other partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letters sent on Wednesday.

Responding to the letters, PMI and BAT stated that their marketing targets adults. PMI’s spokesperson said campaigners’ complaints were “tired and lazy.”

F1 has a growing youth following

Fast-growing nicotine pouches are central to tobacco companies’ efforts to present themselves as focused on lower-risk products for former smokers.

“Adult consumers of nicotine products... have hobbies, interests, and attend sporting events, and we will meet them where they are,” a PMI spokesperson said, adding F1’s audience was mostly adult. BAT said its McLaren-related activities comply with regulations.

F1 has seen a surge in young followers, with the number of 8-12 year olds actively watching the sport totalling almost 4 million across the U.S. and European Union, according to a 2025 press release.

The sport has cultivated a younger audience via partnerships with youth-orientated brands like Disney, Lego and Hot Wheels, made by toy maker Mattel, as well as social media and streaming series such as Netflix’s Drive to Survive.

Disney, Lego and Mattel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lifelong addicts?

Yolonda Richardson, President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said F1 and its partners should reconsider their ties to the tobacco industry, even with newer products.

“It has the same goal, which is to addict young people, addict them early, and make them lifelong addicts,” she said.

Two academics who support the use of nicotine pouches to reduce smoking-related harms agreed that pouches should not be promoted through sports sponsorships.

Pouches are less harmful than cigarettes, but are not risk-free and should be targeted at former smokers only, said Karl Erik Lund, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

“The companies understand that car racing attracts a lot of adolescents, and I think they’re showing their true colors,” said Ken Warner, an emeritus professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Reporting by Emma Rumney, Editing by Lisa Jucca and Louise Heavens, Reuters