Prosecuted by an anti-tobacco association, Canal+ was sentenced on Thursday, February 2 to a suspended fine of 30,000 euros for not having blurred, at the end of 2021, tobacco and vaping brands during the broadcast of Formula 1 competitions. The company must also immediately pay, even in the event of an appeal, €25,000 in damages to the National Committee against Smoking (Comité national contre le tabagisme, CNCT), which had summoned it to appear, as well as €10,000 for the costs of lawyers.
During the broadcast of the Formula 1 world championship, Canal+ broadcast live, deferred or replay images of the logos and names of the Marlboro, Mission WinNow (Philip Morris) and Vuse (British American Tobacco) brands. The first mark appeared on archival footage of the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prize used in a motorsport broadcast. It was written on the side of the single-seater driven by Ayrton Senna. The Mission WinNow brand, affixed to the fins of Ferraris and on the caps that the drivers of the Italian team wear during their out-of-race appearances, is also indirect advertising for tobacco products, and should have been hidden, according to the tribunal.
Finally, the dissemination of images of the Vuse brand, the new name of the Vype electronic cigarette marketed by the tobacco giant BAT, represents for the jurisdiction an advertisement for vaping. However, the court only condemned the company for the period from November 25 to December 29, 2021. In particular, to determine the sentence, he took into account the "diligence" implemented since then by the group's channels.
Canal+ had highlighted its good faith, emphasizing that it had limited room for maneuver insofar as it broadcasts images from a supplier, acknowledging the isolated shortcomings of its teams and asserting the lack of financial interest. The channel has exclusively broadcast the Formula 1 World Championship since 2013 and the contract has been extended until 2029.