Smoking Drivers??

[kmchow]

Originally posted by SPARK Msport
I hate to say this but the day smoking advertising is gone from motorsport (F1) the better!

From a health standpoint, banning tobacco advertising is a good and noble idea. From a motorsport perspective, the banning of tobacco hurts every series that has or will enact such a legislation.

[Tim.Lad]

LOL i`m sure i seen Tom Bordman having a fag round the back of the Toca Buss while i was in there eating my dinner at Donnington last year ..

[Reido Rules]

In the BTCC a good driver is a good driver, the affects of Smoking will not cause any harm to results.

F1 is another story!

[Radisichrox]

True, Reido. Biela won many races and the title in 1996 and still smokes.

F1 is certainly a different story!

[GTRMagic]

I dont suppose we want to talk about Tomas Enge's experience with smoking.....

In Australia, when the tobacco sponsorship was deemed illegal in 1996, the 2 main V8 Supercar teams sponsored by Philip Morris and Wills both struggled to find the dollars to continue.

Indeed one was close to death (Gibson Motorsport) and needed pay drivers and a contract preparation arrangement to keep alive until a new parent for the business was found.

The other one (Glenn Seton Racing) struggled to find non-manufacturer support, and in the end gave up and sold out to prodrive at the end of 2002.

What tended to happen was that as the publication of the race teams was restricted by local laws, these teams didnt market themselves with the fans because they werent allowed to.... so when time came to getting commercial sponsors who dont make carcinogens, they had no experience in this area.

Immaculate cars, paid for the education of a lot of good people in the sport. Sad it all went west....

[rustyfan]

Just to chip in about drivers smoking, I remember seeing former NASCAR Winston Cup driver Dick Trickle light up a cigarette while running under caution during a Busch Series race at Dover or Bristol in '99 (not too sure about the year though). Looked pretty funny, in an odd kind of way.

Personally I don't care either way if someone smokes. I don't smoke myself and that's the choice I've made.

[Erdosfreak]

just something on tobacco advertising. i dont see a need to ban it (this is a bit a level media so sorry) People make the decision to smoke and i'm sure they aren't influenced by ferrari because they have a ciggarette sponsor. However it is a persons decision and some teams like mentioned in the above post lose sponsorship when tobacco advertising is banned. Its only the more vunreable members of society that are going to start smoking because there favourite team is covered in a ciggy brand.
I smoke as do some of my friends but it has nothing to do with advertising.
As for drivers smoking, who cares their choice who are we to say that they shouldn't. Why are some people surprised that people can still race well even though they smoke. Get real.

[PaulSands]

Whereas I dont smoke I wholeheartedly agree that tobacco advertising DOESN'T cause people to actually start smoking. Far more likely are pictures of popstars and movie stars looking cool with a ciggy on their lips..but last time I checked it wasnt illegal to smoke.
When the EU brought forward their tobacco advertising ban by a year recently I ended up having a very nasty email exchange with my local MEP who basically told me I was stupid and that I was a pleb...I did complain to his party leader but was told he couldnt get involved in matters like this but thats another story

[Cato]

The only thing worth smoking in this world are your tyres...

[PaulSands]

ooooh I'm not sure...I think the odd salmon and ham are well worth smoking

[maplex]

Was Jo Winkelhock called "Smokin' Jo Winkelhock" because he smoked or because he was quick off the line?

[MichaelH]

Apparantly Mika Hakkinen smokes now he's retired from F1, that was a bit of a shock. In F1 terms nobody would dare these days though.

[PaulSands]

Michael Schumacher does ocassionally...he got all sorts of s**t in the German media recently

[MichaelH]

That surprises me......

[BSchneiderFan]

According to last week's Autosport, Frank Biela favours Marly reds. I do love the idea of lighting up while running under caution!

For myself, I don't smoke, but learning that, say, Frank Biela does didn't make me any less of a fan. Should tobacco advertising be banned? As long as smoking is legal, I think not; it seems illogical to ban the advertising but not the product itself. Make up your mind. And, as far as the effect on non-smokers goes, I think the tobacco comnpanies' line is actually valid; sponsorship of motor racing influences the brand choice of existing smokers, but probably doesn't encourage non-smokers, even young ones, to start.