‘Anti-Smoker’ a Misused Label

Regarding your front page article on the tobacco bills in the Legislature:

I object to your repeated characterization of anti-tobacco advocates as “anti-smokers.” Those of us working for smoke-free cities understand that smokers and nonsmokers alike are victims of the tobacco industry. We are not anti-smoker; we are anti-tobacco. Most adult smokers are not smokers by choice. They were hooked as teen-agers, and four out of five of them have since tried to quit. Even before the recent EPA report on secondhand smoke, many smokers knew their smoke hurt others. No-smoking laws are necessary because tobacco is such a powerful addiction that the addict cannot be expected to “do the right thing” without help.

By calling anti-tobacco advocates “anti-smokers,” you legitimize the jargon of the tobacco industry, which seeks only to cause division and to protect its profits (surely not its victims).

DARLA MACIEL

Coalition for

a Smoke-Free Ventura