Health funds furious about snus ads around Formula 1
The Dutch Heart Foundation, KWF cancer fund, and the Lung Fund are going to the Advertising Code Commission to try and stop McLaren from advertising snus during the Formula 1 in Zandvoort. The sale of these nicotine sachets is banned in the Netherlands, but advertising snus is allowed, De Telegraaf reports.
Velo - the brand name of British American Tobacco’s snus - is emblazoned on the Formula 1 car of the Mclaren racing team. This car will be very publicly visible during the races in Zandvoort next week and in the publicity campaigns around them.
Snus is a tiny bag of powder that contains nicotine. Users put it under their upper lip. The sale of snus is prohibited in the Netherlands if they contain more than 0.035 milligrams of nicotine. According to Telegraaf, snus usually has between 6 and 16 milligrams, with outliers as high as 65. As the product doesn’t contain any tobacco, it falls under the Commodities Act instead of the Tobacco and Smoking Products Act, which would have banned advertising the product.
According to KWF director Carla van Gils, the Velo branding on the McLaren car shows that the tobacco industry is doing everything in its power to get young people addicted. “To sustain a sickening and deadly business,” she told the newspaper. “In our opinion, this is contrary to good taste and decency.
Advertising isn’t allowed to encourage behavior that is harmful to health. KWF, the Heart Foundation, and the Lung Fund will use this argument in their case to Advertising Code Commission.
Advertising expert Jan Driessen agrees that McLaren’s branding is a dodgy move. “If you know that the bags are not allowed to be sold in our country, you shouldn’t want to advertise them as an impactful brand,” he said. Using a sports team to advertise the snus brand is extra low. “Well-known athletes do well among young people. Those are real heroes for them.”
McLaren and British American Tobacco were unavailable to respond to the Telegraaf’s questions about the health funds’ complaints.
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