THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409020028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Today I am mourning the loss of my father to lung cancer. He was courageous in his battle against the disease.
The tobacco industry is killing fathers like my dad. I do not understand how anyone with a conscience could be involved with the growing, manufacture, advertising, politics, etc., of cigarettes.
Tobacco is a legal, addictive drug. The tobacco industry preys on the vulnerable, such as teenagers who just want to ``fit in'' with their friends and look sophisticated. So what if smoking shortens your life? Live for today, right? ``I can quit anytime I want.''
I see those billboards advertising beautiful women smoking cigarettes, with slogans like ``Slim and Sassy.'' I think of the affects of cancer on my dad's body.
Yes, Dad was beyond slim, but he was not sassy. He wanted to quit cigarettes, as Mom was able to do, but tobacco is a powerful, pleasurable drug, and for him it had become too much a part of his life.
VICKI ALLEN
Virginia Beach, Aug. 23, 1994 by CNB