THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
In ``The pickpocket state vs. tobacco'' (Another View, April 20), Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute opposed states suing the tobacco industry to ``recover'' expenses from smoking-related illnesses. He argued against the principle of ``holding (an) industry accountable for lifestyle decisions.'' The tobacco industry, however, has been unique in its efforts to withhold its own research from the public on the addictiveness of nicotine and the dangers of smoking.
The tobacco industry has funded the Tobacco Institute, which has also argued that secondhand tobacco smoke is not all that dangerous. These claims are laughable given the conclusive body of medical literature on the subject. Interestingly, the tobacco industry has also funded the Cato Institute, which has also argued that secondhand tobacco smoke is not all that dangerous.
Smokers are indeed less likely to spend less time in nursing homes due to a shortened life span. Taylor, assessing these costs, concludes, ``If anything, society owes them money.'' The principle Taylor espouses here, that a killer should be paid for shortening the life span of his victims, would be of great value to any murder defendant.
BRUCE E. JOHNSON
Virginia Beach, April 22, 1996 by CNB