Does Mat Hayes smoke?

[bluezulu]

who cares???????

[Tony 1]

You can ask him yourself he has his own forum.Which he regularly contributes.

 

http://www.totalfishinggear.co.uk/

[David Johnson]

Looks like smoking will soon be banned in pubs in Britain - which will spell the end for most British pubs.

[Chris Playle]

Who cares ????????

 

Probably the same the people who cared enough to write to to OfCom and complain about the advert on the BBC with Johnny Vegas sat in a fridge.

 

 

 

While vast majority of people (myself included)will respect the fact that Matt is quite welcome (and legally old enough) to smoke, some people will see that he is, however, a public figure in the angling world and also has quite a firm fanbase in young anglers. A young angler (who maybe looks up to Matt as a role model) might see the packet of fags there and see smoking as something they have to do to catch the fish that Matt does. Just like the possibility is there that kids might take all the food out of the fridge to sit in it and be just like Johnny Vegas.

 

Personally a packet of fags on the telly wouldn't make me go out and buy some just like Linda Barker would never make me think I had to buy furniture or electrical goods, or a whole host of sporting celebs would influence me into buying a particular soft drink/ jeans/ sunglasses/ sportswear..etc..But the point is there are people out there who WOULD be influenced by such things. That's why advertising exsists. Solely on the purpose of "if you have our product, your lives will be so much better".

 

Now, if you want the perfect example of smoking creating the illusion of a glamourous, rich lifestyle and influencing youngsters, watch the latest Beyonce Knowles music video (recently seen on Sattelite Music Channels/CD:UK and alike) of Naughty Girl.....watch it and you'll see. And when is this video shown? Music TV programmes which are predomenently viewed by under 16's....nuff said.

 

Fair do's to Matt, he can do what he likes, but the producers should tighten up a bit on the editing in the cutting room.

 

Tight Lines.

 

Chris.

[David Johnson]

Yes, in the interest of filthy habits being pushed upon our innocent children I must watch the latest Beyonce video. Purely for this reason of course ;-)

 

Chris - we still live in a free democracy (I think). Who cares what a minority of humourless idiots think? If we pander to these loud minorities it would mean the end of lots of things; including alcohol, swearing, fatty foods and, most importantly, angling.

 

As for kids who are stupid enough to copy Johnny Vegas and climb into a fridge or take up smoking because they caught a glimpse of a pack of fags on Matt Haye's boat - I think it's called natural selection?

 

Dave

[Peter Waller]

David Johnson:

Looks like smoking will soon be banned in pubs in Britain - which will spell the end for most British pubs.

That, David, is arguable! Myself & my wife rarely go to a pub other than a local club. The reason is simple, we don't like coming out of a pub reeking of stale tobacco. We don't want to have to wash our cloths just because we have been for a drink.

 

Thirty years ago I was a licencee. I had a 'no smoking room' and a smoking bar. Both would be packed, I had Broadland pub of the year three years running whilst I was there. Subsequant owners did away with the non smoking room. I speak to staff who are still there, apparently it has never been as busy as when we had a family, non smoking room.

 

It might be the end of the old tradition of 'British' pub, just as the drink & drive laws were. Drink/drive meant a change, hence most pubs are now heavily into food. Non smoking pubs will attract back the majority who don't enjoy smoking, so once again a change.

 

Personally I would like to see a return to the 'smoke room' of a pub, where practical. Then it is down to choice.

[David Johnson]

Peter - I agree in an ideal world pubs with a no-smoking room would be the best compromise. But it's not always possible.

 

I live in a tiny hamlet where the small pub is the hub of the community. Typically 50% of the customers will be smoking. Unfortunately, the pub is small and there's no second room to separate smokers and non-smokers. Ban smoking and this pub would close - the landlady is already making alternative plans as the writing is on the wall. The result will be the end of my village as a community. The neighbouring village lost its last pub 5 years ago and is now little more than a dormitory for commuters.

 

Whilst I accept that there are a minority of people like yourself and your wife who would return to pubs if smoking were banned. I would argue the majority of the loudest "ban smoking" brigade are more likely to spend the evening in the gym than the pub anyway.

 

But it's about far more than smoking. It's about tolerance. Tolerance works both ways. If we want people to accept our right to fish we must be prepared to tolerate other people's pass-times that we find annoying.

 

My argument is futile though - we do as America does and America is moving towards a ban on smoking in public places. We will follow, many pubs will close and the intolerant brigade will then look for new things to ban. Alcohol? Fatty Food? Angling?

 

Dave

 

PS Are you an ex-smoker by any chance?

[Peter Waller]

No, I have never smoked Dave! Couldn't afford it as a student and never started.

 

Tolerance is a two way thing. I should be free to go for a drink without having smarting eyes and stinking cloths, and to be able to do so without condemnation from the smoking lobby! Smokers should also be free to enjoy a fag, without bigots like me condemning them!

 

P.S. Both my brother and mother, heavy smokers, died of lung cancer directly attributable to smoking. My mother's death was pitiful.

[David Johnson]

Peter,

 

But you won't be free to go for a drink for long, because next on the banning list will be alcohol. Ask any A & E nurse or policeman how much harm alcohol does to society. Far more than smoking. Yet should we ban alcohol because a minority of idiots become alcoholics/violent/drink drive etc? Of course not.

 

Your idea of non-smoking rooms in pubs is an excellent compromise - I agree 100%. I also think smoking should be banned in restaurants. But a complete ban on smoking in all public places is far too blunt a tool. Perhaps we can agree on that?

 

Lung cancer is a horrible death (my grandfather died of it). But, non-smokers conveniently forget life's one certainty, they will die too. On average a few years later, but even non-smokers aren't immortal. And there's no guarantee that their death will be pleasant either.

 

On that cheerful note I’m off for a pint!

 

Dave

[Peter Waller]

David Johnson:

 

 

Your idea of non-smoking rooms in pubs is an excellent compromise - I agree 100%.  I also think smoking should be banned in restaurants.  But a complete ban on smoking in all public places is far too blunt a tool.  Perhaps we can agree on that?

 

Dave

Yes!