JANUARY 12, 1998

Hesketh attacks tobacco policies

LORD HESKETH, the British politician and former Grand Prix team owner, who is currently head of the BritishÊRacingÊDriversÊClub - which owns Silverstone has said that the European Union tobacco sponsorship ban is "demented". Hesketh said that the policy is "bad, cheap, single issue politics and it will cost us jobs".

Hesketh said that the ban will force races out of Europe to the Far East and teams will quickly realize that it is cheaper to relocate to that region. "Fifty thousand jobs are at stake," he said, "but I get the feeling that people will only discover what they have lost when it's gone."

The European Union is proposing to ban tobacco advertising entirely from October 1, 2006 although it will take some years before the idea becomes law.