Cigarette ad ban threatens Belgian Grand Prix
Thursday, 13 December 2001 14:51Bernie Ecclestone has warned that the Belgian Grand Prix could be dropped from the 2003 Formula One calendar if the government in Brussels imposes a ban on tobacco advertising. "Belgium must adopt the same stance as the rest of Europe, where tobacco advertisement is permitted until 2006. We cannot make exceptions for certain organisers," the Formula One supremo told Autosport magazine. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has said it wants to ban all tobacco sponsorship by the end of the 2006 season.
Russia is expected to seek a place on the 2003 race calendar. Another European grand prix could be dropped to make way. This is not the first time that the Belgian race's future has been in jeopardy. In 1999, the Belgian government threatened legal action against any teams running with tobacco advertising. This left a dilemma as Belgian cigarette advertising law conflicted with a decree issued by the Walloon region, where the Spa-Francorchamps circuit is based, exempting the grand prix. Ecclestone also threatened to drop the race back in 1997 when Belgium's parliament first approved a law, tougher than European Union legislation, against tobacco advertising.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
