The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 30, 1995                  TAG: 9507280010
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   21 lines

NICOTINE IS ``LETHAL''

Two weeks ago I lost my father to lung disease. He stopped smoking three years before his death. The suffering he endured fighting to breathe was very hard for all his loved ones to watch.

Yes, nicotine should most definitely be controlled as a drug. Pro-tobacco lawmakers tell us it's a legal substance. I know from watching my father die it is also a lethal substance.

PATRICIA CORE INGMIRE

Virginia Beach, July 20, 1995 by CNB