THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 22 lines
The Fourth of July brought into consciousness thoughts of freedom. Yet as I looked around I was astounded by the masses who are not free but who are chained to little white rolls of paper filled with one of the most-addictive substances in existence.
I am talking about all those smokers who were enticed by glamorous and seductive advertisements into the bondage of nicotine addiction; who use the pristine shoreline as their personal ashtray; who fill the outdoors with foul smells such that each breath insults one's nostrils.
Where is the freedom? The smokers are held hostage by the nicotine while the nonsmokers are ``the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'' It seems to me that the revolution is not over but has only just begun.
CATHERINE C. VIEIRA
Virginia Beach, July 7, 1996 by CNB