There was a time when cigarette smoking and the sport of car racing went hand-in-hand.  The ties between NASCAR and the tobacco industry run deep; some of the first races were in the heart of tobacco country, and millions of industry marketing dollars were pumped into the emerging sport in its early days.

(taken from news-journalonline.com)

Entire events were sponsored by tobacco giants for decades, and it was not uncommon to have cigarette samples distributed freely during races.

That all changes today, however, because NASCAR has announced that the Daytona Speedway will ban cigarette smoking in the stands.

Starting in July, smokers will be asked to take breaks in designated smoking areas, a change that has been generally well-received by fans.

“It is the year 2012,” said Joie Chitwood III, Daytona Speedway’s president, “I am not aware of any other sporting venue in Florida that allows smoking in their seats.”

In the past couple of years, the marketing of tobacco products at NASCAR events has been largely replaced by smoking cessation products such as Nicorette and electronic cigarettes.

DRIVE4COPD, the largest national awareness campaign aimed at identifying individuals at-risk for COPD, has screened over 2 million people at these races.  Moreover, NASCAR recently recognized COPD awareness as the main health initiative of the sport. Danica Patrick, a NASCAR newcomer whose grandmother passed away due to COPD, has been a trailblazer in spreading awareness, education and encourage millions to get screened for COPD.

Clearly there has been a shift in awareness in terms of race car driving and tobacco.  We hope that the close relationship between racing and smoking remains a thing of the past.