February 15, 2001 9:59: MR FAGAN (Letters, February 8) is either a paid apologist for the tobacco industry or a self-deceiving addict.
If the first, he deserves our contempt. The tobacco industry is directly responsible for the killing of millions of people worldwide. No amount of misinformation from the likes of Mr Fagan will ever change that fact.
If the second is true, he is a victim of the tobacco industry and deserves our pity.
Philip Morris, the world's leading tobacco company, writes on its own website: "We agree with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases in smokers.
"Smokers are far more likely to develop serious diseases, like lung cancer, than non-smokers. There is no "safe" cigarette.
"These are and have been the essages of public health authorities worldwide. Smokers and potential smokers should rely on these messages in making all smoking-related decisions."
Check it out for yourself:
www.philipmorrisusa.com/DisplayPageWithTopic.asp?ID=60
Wayne Holmes,Marlow
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