WHY is it always working class smokers who get a raw deal with the Budget?

As expected, nothing on cigars and spirits, but 25p on a packet of cigs.

The majority of smokers started the habit due to peer group pressure while at school. Now we've got the same peer group pressure trying to force us to stop. Unless you've been a smoker, you cannot possibly understand how hard it can be to break the habit.

I'm all for stopping youngsters falling into the same trap by starting smoking in the first place, but leave us adults, who have been smoking for years, alone.

We are not breaking any laws, but are being alienated everywhere we go. I started smoking when I was 14. I am now 40. I refuse to be pressurised by my peers again. We need support, not pressure. It's ironic, really. The tobacco industry has always paid more revenue than any other industry. It is also the largest industry, which keeps billions of people in jobs.

Karen McLeod

Ramsay Avenue

Farnworth

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.