THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 26 lines
Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear of yet another plane crash with all on board killed.
The news was sadder when I learned a good friend had lost his wife and daughter on TWA Flight 800.
I thought also of the more that 1,000 people - the equivalent of three 757 crashes - who lost their lives to tobacco-related illnesses on Wednesday.
There were no headlines for them, no all-day newscasts, no grief counselors rushing to help their families. Lung cancer and emphysema are long, painful, lingering deaths.
Ads promise that if we will only smoke this or that brand we will be beautiful (or handsome), slim, sexy, successful. Many young people are led to believe these promises. Surely the ads are brainwashing.
ValuJet was grounded after its accident in Florida. How can we continue to not only promote but also subsidize a crop that kills more than 1,000 people every day - almost a half-million Americans every year?
ELIZABETH H. BUSCIGLIO
Virginia Beach, July 19, 1996 by CNB