Philip Morris Advertisement

On the same day your newspaper reported that the “truth-in-advertising” initiative has qualified for the November ballot (Part I), you carried the Philip Morris ad touting the alleged economic contributions of smokers.

If this consumer’s right-to-know initiative is approved, publishers of future ads from the tobacco industry should require the cigarette makers to indicate in their ads not only how much money smokers spend, but how much the American taxpayers spend to subsidize tobacco farmers; the cost of treatment of smoking-related diseases and increased costs due to lost productivity, and the cost of fires caused by cigarettes. Of course, no one can place a value on the pain and suffering sustained by the smokers and their families due to their increased illnesses.

NORMAN G. AXE

Santa Monica