Referring to your two recent articles on political parties and the tobacco industry (Tories attack 'evil' tobacco ads, 19 July 1999 and Clarke leads defence of the tobacco industry, 20 July 1999), I would like to add my own comments to those contained in Anthony Butler's letter (Feedback, Are Politicians sane? 21 July 1999).

Advertising and promoting cigarettes, which are known to be addictive and are estimated by the WHO to kill about 3 million people world wide every year, is an EVIL thing to do.

All forms of cigarette advertising and promotion should have been banned years ago, when the evidence for the harm they cause first became evident. The fact that this did not happen is clearly the result of the tobacco industry "buying" the politicians, the evidence for which is manifest and a small proportion of which is mentioned in your two articles.

The tobacco industry puts its business interests before the health and lives of its customers. In promoting their products they are no better than those who deal in hard drugs, who, after all, are also only perusing their business interests - also to the "grave" cost of their customers.

In my opinion all forms of cigarette advertising and promotion should be banned immediately and the tobacco companies made to pay annually the proportion of their turnover they have up until now spent on cigarette advertising and promotion to a government agency which would use the money to discourage smoking and promote healthy life styles - perhaps also by supporting worthy
forms of sport.