Cigar Smoke and Cancer

* Re: “Cigar Ads Are So Much Hot Air,” (April 12): Kenneth L. Khachigian should stick to the real issue, which is the danger of second-hand cigar smoke and cancer, instead of blowing hot air.

The scientific data is finally in from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on cigars. Those who smoke cigars regularly are six times more likely to develop cancer of the larynx than those who smoke cigarettes. The latest TV commercial comparing 70 cigarettes to one cigar in nicotine level further shows how dangerous cigars are to the public’s health.

Khachigian is entitled to smoke his cigar. However, when it affects the air we breathe, it’s an appropriate role for government to intervene. As a result of the NCI’s study on cigars’ high nicotine levels and public awareness on the effects of tobacco, handing out cigars when babies are born will soon become a thing of the past.

Nicotine kills over 400,000 people per year and deserves the same attention as alcohol issues like related child abuse and violent crime. For decades the public has been unaware of the ill effects of cigars. Now that we have another study reaffirming tobacco’s dangers, the chemicals in tobacco should be clearly labeled, regulated by the FDA and, like alcohol, licensed by the state.

ARIELA F. GUTIERREZ

Irvine