Columnist Is Urged to Give Up Writing About Cigarette Firms

I read James Flanigan’s Aug. 30 column about the cigarette industry, and I was appalled.

Why is it necessary to give an industry whose product is admittedly a serious health hazard so much of a boost? Flanigan’s columns undoubtedly are meant as a guide for investor-readers, and he has in effect encouraged readers to invest in an industry whose products should be avoided.

Flanigan approvingly mentions the fact that cigarette consumption is growing in Asian and other developing countries when actually every effort ought to be made to discourage the spread of this dangerous product. Developing countries should not be encouraged to spend the small amount of cash they have on developing the habit of consuming an acknowledged unhealthy and addictive product.

IRMGARD LENEL

Santa Monica