Sir, - Your correspondents, Peter Evans (June 17th) and John Geary (June 15th), wrote criticising our issues advertising campaign. With respect to Mr Evans, the point is not, as he suggests, that one has a choice over whether one undertakes all of the activities that we quote in our advertisement, except exposure 19 second hand smoke (though, incidentally, not everybody has the choice of consuming chlorinated water or not).
Rather, the issue is that science shows none of the activities forms a meaningful risk to health. It would be ludicrous to suggest that one biscuit or a glass of milk a day is a risk and should be banned, but opponents of smoking want to ban second hand tobacco smoke even though the evidence on relative risk is even weaker.
I can reassure Mr Geary that we certainly recognise secondhand smoke can be unpleasant in certain situations. Part of the new campaign focuses on reasonable smoking policies which accommodate the preferences of smokers and non smokers.
We support good smoking policies at the workplace and in public places, tailored to people, buildings and situations, and our information package provides guidance on developing workable solutions. A Gallup survey shows that the vast majority of Irish people reject smoking bans and prefer solutions which balance the preferences of smokers and non smokers alike. - Yours etc.,
Vice-president,
EU Corporate Affairs,
Philip Morris Corporate
Services Inc.
Rue Joseph II,
166-1040Brussels.