Behind RJR’s Smoke Screen of Denial Is the Truth: Company Pitches Cigarettes to Teens

Thanks to The Times for the excellent piece regarding the moral dilemma of writing ad copy for the purpose of selling cigarettes. Thanks also for running the Doonesbury cartoon strip dealing with the subject. We are curious, however, as to why The Times continues to carry cigarette ads.

With two deaths in our family directly attributable to cigarettes and with the statistic that 300,000 Americans die each year of smoking-related disease, we would ask The Times to seriously examine its policy of accepting cigarette advertising. For our part, we are seriously examining whether we can continue to subscribe to a publication which advertises and is influenced by the billion-dollar corporations that create this narcotic poison.

LEONORA HOLDER

EVERETT GANTZ

Long Beach