LONDON - An anti-tobacco group in Britain appealed Friday to chart-topping pop star Craig David to pull out of a concert in Malaysia that is part-sponsored by a major cigarette brand.

The concert in Penang on October 11 is part of David's world tour, but campaigners fear he doesn't know that Salem, a popular cigarette brand in East Asia, is one of its sponsors.

"Is Craig David really going to be used by the tobacco industry to market cigarettes to his young fans?" asked Debroah Arnott, director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a British anti-smoking charity.

"Tobacco sponsorship is outlawed in the United Kingdom. Why would Craig David want to do the industry's dirty work in Malaysia?"

David, 21, become the youngest-ever British male artist to hit the number-one spot in the British charts with his debut single, "Fill Me In", released in March 2000.

Not headline artist

A spokesman for the singer said he was not the headline artist for the event in Malaysia, which featured other performers, DJs and a fashion show.

"There is no advertising of any kind that we have seen that includes both Salem and Craig David," he said. "To this end Craig David is not promoting or condoning smoking or cigarettes."

Salem is made by Japanese Tobacco International, which also produces Camel, Mild Seven and Winston, and its spokesman defended the Salem sponsorship.

"The event is restricted to over-18-year-olds only," he said. "It is about maintaining brand loyalty among adult smokers."

ASH says that tobacco claims 120,000 lives in Britain every year. - AFP