SMOKE-FILLED ROOMS

A hearty “Bravo!” for the discreet interventions that the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences provided for music industry leaders with drug problems during the week of the Grammy Awards (Pop Eye, March 23).

Another hearty “Bravo!” for the nonprofit Musicians’ Assistance Program, which has been provided with a $2-million grant from the Recording Industry Assn. of America for training seminars for record company personnel, again to focus on drugs.

But a major drug has unfortunately been left out of those worthwhile projects: nicotine. Nicotine doesn’t just affect the health and potential career of the user. The secondhand smoke that is produced as a byproduct of this addiction presents an unacceptable risk to all those who happen to be in the same breathing space.

How much longer will musicians working in bars and nightclubs have to breathe the equivalent of 1 1/2 to 2 packs of cigarettes a day from other people’s smoke? Now that cigars are part of the scene, the hazard is even worse!

Re the benefit concert on Friday at Billboard Live: Will it be smoke-free?

ESTHER SCHILLER

Newbury Park