L.A. County Fair to Drop Tobacco Company Sponsorship
Citing the need to maintain a family environment, the Los Angeles County Fair has announced it is stubbing out tobacco company sponsorship of the annual event.
The Los Angeles County Fair Assn.’s decision comes after anti-smoking activists publicly criticized the promotion of tobacco company brands at the event, which is held at the Fairplex.
Fair officials said the decision will end Philip Morris’ sponsorship of headline music performers under the banner Marlboro Music. The event, which began in 1994, generated about $350,000 to $500,000 for the fair last year, officials said.
“We believe this is the right thing for us to do at this time,” said Dale Coleman, vice president of sales. “We felt it was time to voluntarily move away from this type of advertising.”
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