THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506160010
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
We heard secondhand of an Irish terrorist who refused to serve on a team if any member smoked. He had been ratted on by a team member whose lips loosened after his British interrogators took his cigarettes and said, ``Talk and you can have them back.'' Having served time in prison because of another man's cigarette addiction, the terrorist naturally shunned smokers.
Recently in Hampton Roads, and all across America, smokers of Philip Morris Co.'s brands did not want to have their cigarettes recalled just because some of the filters might contain a pesticide that could cause coughing, wheezing, throat irritation, dizziness and red eyes.
As staff writer Stephanie Stoughton reported last week, merchants said their customers' health concerns were overshadowed by strong brand loyalty and nicotine cravings.
``It didn't bother me none,'' said Albert Reynolds, 23, an air-conditioning repairman from Suffolk. ``I didn't return anything, and I don't know anyone who did.''
If someone on Earth still doubted that cigarettes are addictive, that doubt surely was laid to rest when smokers of such Philip Morris brands as Marlboro, Benson & Hedges and Virginia Slims sucked smoke and whatnot from their cigarettes despite the pesticide warnings. They would never buy food tainted by pesticides, but cigarettes were a different matter.
Recalling cigarettes because they are bad for your health is like recalling bombs because they are noisy. Of course cigarettes are bad for your health. Smokers should be grateful if smoking merely caused coughing, wheezing, throat irritation, dizziness and red eyes.
Red eyes and a little wheezing you can live with. Cancer kills you. So do heart attacks.
It's your life and your health and really none or our business, but given that friends need friends and spouses need spouses and children need parents and grandparents, permit us to beg you to stop smoking or never start. The danger is much greater than an occasional pesticide in the filter. by CNB