RO cultural personalities ask Parliament to reject project banning tobacco sponsorship

More than 70 personalities in the cultural field have asked the Parliament to reject a draft law banning tobacco companies from sponsoring art and culture events, News.ro reported.

The Culture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies is set to discuss the project this week. It received a similar request last fall. The project previously received a negative opinion from three commissions of the Senate.

The list of personalities includes Constantin Chiriac, the president of the Sibiu International Theater Festival (SibFest); Tudor Giurgiu, the president of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), choreographer Gigi Căciuleanu; George Banu, an honorary member of the Romanian Academy and professor of theater studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle University; theater specialist and professor Ludmila Patlanjoglu; musicians Horia Mihail, Gabriel Croitoru, and Răzvan Popovici; actors Rodica Mandache and Marius Manole; columnists Sever Voinescu, Magdalena Popa Buluc, and Cristina Bazavan; writers Florin Iaru and Marius Chivu; and TV personalities Cătălin Ştefănescu and Silvia Ghiaţă.

"We stand firmly against such a restriction which would have a major impact on the culture and arts field. We respectfully ask you to allow us to continue to organize festivals and cultural events in Romania. These need support and promotion, especially in the absence of consistent public funding. Removing an important financial supporter like the tobacco industry will create damages for cultural events," the letter reads.

The signatories of the letter say that the ban is hard to comprehend given that the sponsorship "having the purpose or direct or indirect effect of promoting a tobacco product" has been banned since 2004, through the Law no. 457.

"The institutions organizing festivals, performances, exhibitions, concerts, and other artistic events welcome sponsorships from any company, especially that there are not very many organizations and companies that can afford to allot considerable budgets, every year, to ensure the continuity of mass events and make Romania more visible to international public opinion," the letter reads.

Many times, these companies' contribution makes the difference in organizing large events and in supporting events in smaller localities or underprivileged areas, which might not be of interest for other sponsors, the document argues.

The only result of enforcing the ban in its current form would be "the damage brought to art and culture activity in Romania."