Rodeo is one of the few sports still sponsored by the tobacco industry, particularly the US Smokeless Tobacco Company. Rodeo is popular in rural communities, where smokeless tobacco use is more prevalent. We used previously secret tobacco industry documents to examine the history and internal motivations for tobacco company rodeo sponsorship. Rodeos allow tobacco companies to reach rural audiences and young people, enhance brand image, conduct market research, and generate positive press. Relationships with athletes and fans were used to fight proposed restrictions on tobacco sports sponsorship. Rodeo sponsorship was intended to enhance tobacco sales, not the sport. Rural communities should question the tradition of tobacco sponsorship of rodeo sports and reject these predatory marketing practices. SPORTS SPONSORSHIP HAS been part of tobacco promotion since the industry invented baseball cards to associate cigarettes with sport, 1 and it continues to represent a challenge for tobacco control worldwide. 2 – 5 Sports sponsorship is associated with smoking behavior 4 and appeals to youths, 2 maintains presence on television in restricted markets, 3 , 6 , 7 and recruits third-party allies to fight marketing restrictions. 8 Rodeo originated in the 1800s. The Cowboy's Turtle Association was formed in 1936 and became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 1975. 9 Cigarette companies explored rodeo sponsorship during the early 1970s, when tobacco advertising was banned from broadcast media in the United States. 3 , 5 , 6 , 10 The US Smokeless Tobacco Company (USST) 11 , 12 has sponsored the PRCA since 1986 and the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) since 1974. The 1998 Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement limits USST to 1 sponsorship per year bearing a product's brand name. In 2008 USST made Professional Bull Riding (PBR) its single branded sponsorship (Copenhagen). 13 USST uses its PRCA corporate sponsorship to continue other marketing activities at rodeos. Spending on advertising and promotion by the 5 major smokeless tobacco companies reached a record high of $251 million in 2005, including $15.8 million specifically on sports and sporting events. 14 The PRCA stated in 2007 that it had 650 rodeos annually in 41 states, with more than 33 million attending, ranking it seventh in overall attendance among all sports. 11 Both PRCA and PBR events are televised. 15 Although tobacco advertising on television is banned, television cameras may pick up branded banners, chute signs, scoreboards, and cowboys' vest patches during televised rodeo events. Smokeless tobacco use is associated with oral cancer, gum disease, and nicotine addiction. 16 , 17 Although the overall prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among adults and adolescents declined between 1986 and 2003,18 sales of moist snuff products (USST's main products) increased by 109% from 36.1 million pounds in 1986 to 75.7 million pounds in 2005, as did overall sales revenues. 14 Rodeos provide tobacco companies access to rural audiences, which have higher rates of tobacco use 19 and are reached less effectively by anti-tobacco media campaigns. 20 Rodeos are also attended by and popular with children. Previously secret tobacco industry documents can help guide tobacco control efforts by providing insights into how and why tobacco companies pursue marketing activities. 21 We analyzed tobacco industry documents to address 3 questions: (1) What audiences did tobacco companies hope to reach at rodeos? (2) What marketing strategies were used to promote tobacco products at rodeos? (3) In addition to increasing sales, what other benefits did tobacco companies obtain through rodeo sponsorship?.
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