Blumenthal Statement on Orange Bowl Decision to Restrict Camacho Cigar Advertising

(Hartford, CT) – Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement today after the Orange Bowl Committee announced that it would not move forward with a three-year corporate sponsorship deal with Camacho Cigars:

“I am delighted by this breakthrough decision that provides a model of public health responsibility in the sports arena. I thank the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA for deciding against this sponsorship and choosing to help protect the health of their fans. Young fans are particularly susceptible to tobacco marketing, and cigars are just as harmful to their health as cigarettes. NCAA rules already prohibit tobacco use in any form by student athletes and all game personnel, and tobacco has no place in sports. I look forward to continuing to work to ensure that young people in Connecticut and across the country stay healthy and tobacco-free.”

Earlier this month, Blumenthal joined a letter lead by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Orange Bowl Committee requesting that they reconsider their corporate sponsorship agreement with Camacho Cigars, stating that “a tobacco company’s sponsorship of the Orange Bowl undermines a premier collegiate sporting event and promotes tobacco use to young fans, putting them at risk of developing an addictive and dangerous habit.”