Rio Ferdinand accused of 'endorsing Asian cigarette firm that promotes smoking among children'

• Anti-smoking charities accuse the England star of promoting Indonesian tobacco firm Gudang Garam International
• Ferdinand's club Manchester United says he is 'sorry for this misunderstanding'

By Chris Richards

Published: 09:11 GMT, 17 June 2012 | Updated: 10:04 GMT, Pabrik Rak Minimarket 17 June 2012

Rio Ferdinand is at the centre of a row over tobacco advertising after anti-smoking charities accused him of promoting a company that owns one of Asia's biggest cigarette brands.

The England and Manchester United footballer features in billboard advertisements and YouTube videos in Indonesia that promote Gudang Garam International's internet-based sports channel, Intersport.

But the company is one of Indonesia's largest tobacco firms and its cigarettes, flavoured with spices such as cloves and cinnamon, are popular with children.

A spokesman for Ferdinand, who supports the global children's charity Unicef, insisted that the footballer, who does not smoke, was advertising the sports channel and not tobacco.

It appears that Ferdinand, one of many international football stars to appear in the ads, had been unaware that Gudang Garam International makes much of its profits from tobacco or that his image would be used on billboards which carry the cigarette brand logo.

Its Intersport channel shows Premier League football matches and helps to raise the profile of English football in Asia,

The spokesman added that Ferdinand was consulting lawyers about the use of his image in the campaign.

The World Health Organisation predicts smoking will kill one billion people worldwide this century.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking group Ash, said sponsorship deals such as this were banned in the UK because of concerns that they promoted cigarettes to young people.

She also called on Ferdinand to dissociate himself from GGI.

'Rio talks a good talk about putting children first when he tweets for Unicef, but he has to put his money where his mouth is,' Ms Arnott told The Observer.

'Well over a third of 15-year-old boys in Indonesia smoke and smoking rates among the young have increased sixfold since 1995.

'Rio is estimated to be worth £40m and to earn more than £100,000 a week; does he really need to do this?

'I hope now he realises what he's done he'll apologise.'

Separately, Indonesia's National Commission for Child Protection has written to the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson urging him 'to have this unhealthy promotion removed immediately'.

In the YouTube videos, Ferdinand, wearing a red football kit and displaying the GGI corporate badge, says how 'football is everything and everything about football is only on Gudang Garam Intersport'.

The final scene cuts to the Intersport logo, which is then followed by the Gudam Garang International logo and a tobacco health warning.

Tobacco firms worldwide are keen to cultivate the next generation of smokers, but their efforts are hampered by blanket advertising bans in Europe.

No such laws apply in Indonesia, where GGI also operates a music website - which anti-smoking groups claim is another attempt to reach young people.

Andrea Crossfield, the director of Tobacco Free Futures, which is campaigning for cigarettes to be sold in plain packets in the UK, said: 'I don't believe that it is a coincidence that Gudang Garam chose a Manchester United player to promote their brand sponsorship of Indonesian football, as the iconic Manchester United kit so closely resembles their own cigarette brand colours.'

Ian Gray, from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, told Environmental Health News:  'We must be concerned about the prevalence of smoking internationally, particularly in the developing world, where it is a major killer.

'It is particularly galling to see a prominent UK celebrity recognised by young football supporters the world over participating in such a distasteful and ill-advised campaign.'

A United spokeswoman told The Observer: 'The contractual agreement between Rio and Gudang Garam Intersports runs to 31 October 2012, at which time all forms of advertising will cease.

'Both Manchester United and Rio Ferdinand are sorry for this misunderstanding and will endeavour to ensure that it is not repeated in the future.'