Winfield (cigarette)

Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams FW20 at the 1998 Italian Grand Prix

Winfield was the main sponsor of the Williams F1 Team in 1998 and 1999.[12][4][13] The sponsorship was part of the deal Williams signed with the then-parent company of Winfield, Rothmans International, whose flagship brand had sponsored the multi-time world championship team since 1994. Among the drivers who ran under the Winfield colors for Williams were former world champion Jacques Villeneuve and former IndyCar Series champion Alex Zanardi. The arrangement came to an end following the 1999 season as British American Tobacco had purchased Rothmans International, and since they were already owners of their own Formula 1 operation, they chose instead to focus their sponsorship on their own team.

Gibson Motorsport Holden Commodore VP of Mark Skaife at Lakeside International Raceway in April 1994

From 1992 until 1995, Winfield was the title sponsor of the Australian motor racing team Gibson Motorsport. Highlights included Mark Skaife winning two Australian Touring Car Championships in 1992 and 1994, as well as the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1992 and 1993. Skaife and Jim Richards also won the 1992 Bathurst 1000.

The banning of tobacco sponsorship before the 1996 season has been laid down as a significant contributor to Gibson Motorsports demise since its glory days of the early 1990s with the team folding during the 2003 season, despite a Bathurst win in 1999, never achieving the same level of results.[14][15]

From the 1970s until 1995, Winfield sponsored a number of high-profile teams in Speedway and Drag racing.

Winfield also sponsored the Honda Team in the Australian Superbike Championship from 1986 until 1995. Malcolm Campbell won the 1986, 1989 and 1990 editions in the Winfield-sponsored Honda VFR750F and Honda VFR750R bikes. and later Troy Corser and Anthony Gobert would also win the 1994 and 1995 editions with their Honda RC30 and Honda RC45 bikes.[16] After the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 was passed, Winfield no longer sponsored the team.

Winfield also sponsored the regular Superbike World Championship in 1994 and 1995,[17][18] as well as the annual Winfield Triple Challenge at Eastern Creek each January between 1992 and 1995.

From 1982 until 1995, it was the title sponsor of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership with the winner of the grand final receiving the Winfield Cup. It also sponsored both test and club/franchise international rugby union in South Africa from 1995 until 1999 when tobacco advertising was prohibited there.

In 2011, it was reported that various fake Winfield cigarettes were smuggled into Australia and sold onto the black market.

Independent tests were carried out on a pack of Winfield Blues from both a real version and an illegal copy made in Asia and smuggled into Australia to be sold on the black market. The real Winfield Blues weighed 0.58g, whereas the fakes weighed 0.66g. The real ones lost 87 percent of their weight when smoked, while the fakes lost only 84 percent. The tests - performed by chemist firm Sharp and Howells and commissioned by The Daily Telegraph - appear to discredit claims that fake cigarettes are significantly different or more dangerous than the real product. "The fake Winfield Blues come up higher." Sharp and Howells laboratory manager John Franceschini said. "The genuine Winfield Blues and the fake Intershop ones were quite similar."

A spokesman for British American Tobacco Australia, the maker of Winfield, said the tests were not exhaustive enough to determine true quality, although he acknowledged there was no such thing as a safe cigarette. "At the end of the day, smoking is harmful regardless of whether it's legal or illegal." the BATA spokesman said. "The issue with illegal tobacco is that 100 percent of the profits go to the pockets of criminals while 70 percent of the legal product sale goes to taxpayers through tobacco excise and tax."[19][20][21]