Research
Ronnie Peterson, 1978 Monaco GP. Image: Martin Lee. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.Find out about our latest research, including updates on our publications, blogs and general news.
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Cavaliers, Cars, and Cancer: a short history of tobacco sponsorship in British sport
Smoking remains a pressing public health issue in Britain, with the NHS estimating that there were 74,600 deaths attributable to smoking in England in 2019 and the Scottish Public Health Observatory recording that there were…
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Advertising, Angling, and Alcohol-Free: a short history of alcohol sponsorship in British sport.
In contrast to tobacco, the genesis of alcohol sponsorship in British sport stemmed from market forces rather than legislative necessity. Against a backdrop of extensive corporate mergers, which saw the top seven brewers’ control over…
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Banned to Bustling Betting: a short history of gambling sponsorship in British sport
Unlike the tobacco and alcohol industry, the sports sponsorship by gambling companies only gained major visibility and public attention in the 2010s, as mass sponsorship of football and rugby teams became apparent. Following almost two…
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Historicising the Commercial Determinants of Health: Call for Papers
We are hosting a one-day in-person workshop on the Commercial Determinants of Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (15 April 2026). We welcome cross-disciplinary scholars and policymakers at all career levels.…
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Kicking the Habit: ‘Addictive’ Sport Sponsorship in Britain, 1965-2025. Points History.
A blog post about the Wellcome-funded project, "Kicking the Habit." Read on for the biographies of the impressive team of historians leading this project and a preview of the research to come...
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Kicking the Habit: ‘Addictive’ Sport Sponsorship in Britain, 1965-2025. The Polyphony.
Welcome to the introduction to our project, where we map its key themes, socio-historical contexts, and guiding ambitions. Commercial sponsorship is now ubiquitous in professional sports. From match-day programmes and pitch-side hoardings to players’ shirts…
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John Player & Sons, Cricket, and the Politics of Tobacco Sport Sponsorship in Britain, 1969-1986. European Journal for the History of Medicine and Health.
Dr Dan O’Neill and Professor Anna Greenwood’s article explores some of the marketing strategies associated with the British tobacco industry’s sponsorship of sport during the 1960s and 1970s. It focuses on the British cigarette and…
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Unhealthy histories: sports and addictive sponsorship. The Lancet
Professors Anna Greenwood, Alex Mold and Heather Wardle discuss how professional sport has been criticised for its role as a vehicle to market addictive products or services. The integration of sports and addictive commodities highlights…