Philip Morris Advertisement

I am shocked by the full-page Philip Morris ad (Part I, June 28) headed “$1 trillion is too much financial power to ignore.” The ad says that smokers are one of the most economically powerful groups in this country, and that “they help fuel the engine of the largest economy on the globe.”

Philip Morris seems to imply that if we are not willing to risk an early death from lung cancer, the engine of our economy will slow down for lack of sufficient fuel. The ad implies that if the smokers in this country give up smoking they’ll give up their economic power and damage the country’s economy!

What sort of thinking is this? It seems typical of the addiction to money and power that permeates both business and government today. Should we develop a powerful cocaine industry in this country to fuel our economy?

What has happened to human concerns such as health and a long life? Philip Morris says its ad is in the interest of “America’s 55.8 million smokers.” What are they doing in the interest of all the people who have died as a result of smoking?

What Philip Morris is actually doing is trying to save its profits.

PEGGY THOMAS

La Jolla