Verdict Against Tobacco Firm

The awarding of $400,000 to the Cipollone estate by the Liggett Group Inc. is wrong. The estate deserves nothing.

There were thousands of people--nay, millions--who read the same cigarette ads, watched the same programs on TV and chose not to smoke.

At the proms I attended at Temple University, there were platters, piled high with cigarettes, free for the taking, all gifts of tobacco companies. Did I take any? No. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.

The decision to smoke or not rests ultimately with the individual. I feel that all of those cases against tobacco companies should be thrown out of court.

JESSIE G. DeMASSA

Huntington Beach