Orange Bowl Does the Right Thing in Canceling Cigar Sponsorship
Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
December 29, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC — The Orange Bowl Committee has done the right thing for the nation’s kids and health by canceling a planned three-year sponsorship by Camacho Cigars. The committee’s action sends a powerful message that tobacco has no place in sports, and certainly should not have a place at the Orange Bowl, one of the nation’s premier collegiate sporting events. This sponsorship would have helped market tobacco products to young fans, putting them at risk of developing a deadly addiction.
In an open letter to the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA, 10 major public health and medical groups last week said the cigar sponsorship should be cancelled because it promotes tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The groups are the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Dental Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association, Legacy and Oral Health America.
Three U.S. Senators — Dick Durbin of Illinois, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — also called on the Orange Bowl to end the cigar sponsorship.