Responsibility
Your Aug. 18 editorial (“Tobacco Draws a New Breath”) reveals just how deeply you misunderstand and pervert the concept of “responsibility.” Twice you asserted that Congress has failed in its “responsibility” to tax and regulate the tobacco industry.
Even no action against tobacco would be appropriate. For isn’t it the smokers themselves who bear the true responsibility for lost health care costs and their own ill health? They made a conscious choice to smoke. Why not hold them responsible for their actions?
People don’t need the FDA or Congress to protect them from making their own decisions. The only protection people need is from unbridled government force and pious editorial boards.
JASON McNEILL
Costa Mesa
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
