Geneva: Netflix´s popular Formula One show is providing tobacco giants with a fast and effective marketing vehicle to swerve past bans on advertising their product, industry monitors said Wednesday.
The behind-the-scenes Formula One streaming series "Drive to Survive" has been hugely popular on Netflix, which recently released the fifth season.
But campaigners warn that beyond boosting the motor sport´s popularity, the show is also delivering into homes worldwide the branding of cigarette companies that sponsor F1 teams, including in countries where tobacco advertising is banned.
In a fresh report, F1 industry monitor Formula Money and tobacco industry watchdog STOP charged that in just the fourth season of "Drive to Survive", "a total of 1.1 billion minutes of footage streamed around the world contained tobacco-related content."
And half of all episodes during that season contained tobacco-related branding in the opening minute, according to the report, entitled: "Driving Addiction: F1, Netflix and Cigarette Company Advertising".
Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky spark engagement rumours after wearing diamond ring on wedding finger
French film star Gérard Depardieu was taken into custody on Monday, April 29
Prince Harry set to visit UK on May 8
It comes as the Princess of Wales is currently receiving "preventative chemotherapy" for a cancer
CJ Sansom, the Shardlake author died at the age of 71
Prince Harry faces fresh 'snub' ahead of UK return for Invictus Games