F1 Alcohol Sponsorship Ban Impossible, Says FIA President Jean Todt

FIA President Jean Todt "believes that it would be impossible to ban alcohol sponsorship" in F1 after facing calls for a revision of the sport's policy on the exposure of associated brands, according to Luke Smith of NBC SPORTS. A report by the European Alcohol Policy Alliance published last week revealed that fans watching F1 were "exposed to an alcohol brand at an average of every five seconds, and called for a clampdown on sponsorship." Todt "explained how a widespread ban of alcohol sponsorship would not be possible" in F1, and that, although the sport does hold a strict anti-drink-drive policy, it was up to individual nations to "take a stand." Todt: "The use of advertising for alcohol is not linked to the FIA, it is linked to each singular country. You cannot ban alcohol, it is not possible, but you can educate people not to drink and drive. So we are working very closely on that because we know it is an essential topic to be addressed" (NBC SPORTS, 5/28).