Sir, Your correspondents Peter Evans (June 17th) and John Geary (June 15th) write criticising our issues advertising campaign. With respect to Mr Evans, the point is not, as he suggests, that one has a choice over whether one undertakes all of the activities that we quote in our advertisement except exposure to second hand smoke (though incidentally, not everybody has the choice of consuming chlorinated water or not). Rather, the issue is that science shows that none of the activities forms a meaningful risk to health. It would be ludicrous to suggest that one biscuit or a glass of milk a day is a risk and should be banned, but opponents of smoking want to ban second hand tobacco smoke even though the evidence on relative risk is even weaker.
I can reassure Mr Geary that we certainly recognise that second hand smoke can be unpleasant in certain situations. Part of the new campaign focuses on reasonable smoking policies which accommodate the preferences of smokers and non smokers. We support good smoking policies at the workplace and in public places, tailored to people, buildings and situations and our information package provides guidance on developing workable solutions. A Gallup survey shows that the vast majority of Irish people reject smoking bans and prefer solutions which balanced the preferences of smokers and non smokers alike. Yours, etc., Vice President EU Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris Corporate Services, Rue Joseph II, Brussels.