Imperial Tobacco CEO Don Brown said that the 2000 du
Maurier Classic will "be the last time" his company will
sponsor the LPGA Tour event, according to Lorne Rubenstein
of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. Canada's tobacco legislation,
Bill C-71, which goes into effect by 2003, prohibits the
company from sponsoring sports events. Rubenstein wonders
if the event will continue without Imperial's support and
writes, "Unless it makes sound business sense, it's not
likely that will happen." Rubenstein, noting that the
LPGA's official charity is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation, adds that "it's right that tobacco sponsorship
should end," as "tobacco causes lung cancer." Rubenstein,
on the LPGA: "Would it allow a sponsor whose product is
implicated in causing breast cancer to sponsor a tournament?
Of course not" (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/28). The AP's Doug Ferguson
wrote that after 2000, Bill C-71 allows tobacco sponsors to
advertise "only on site, and their name can appear only on
the bottom" 10% of signs "the next three years" (AP, 7/27).
