Up in Smoke

Re “Smokers, You’re Not Alone--Philip Morris” (by Elizabeth Mehren, July 26): C’mon. Articles on tobacco farming, travels through Marlboro Country, rising stars on the Virginia Slims tennis circuit, sponsoring Vatican art exhibits, how to deal with militant non-smokers, the discriminatory nature of cigarette taxes, nostalgia about the Philip Morris bellhop. . . . A better title for the new Philip Morris magazine would be “Filtering the Truth, a Magazine for the Truly Rationalizing Reader.”

I offer an alternative publication. Articles could include “Tobacco Subsidies: The U.S. Government Is on Our Side,” “Travels Through the Morgue,” “Virginia Slims Competitors--Should They Be Forced to Smoke?” “Controversy in the Vatican: Should Sponsors Be Allowed to Smoke at Art Exhibits?”

MADDY AARONSON

Woodland Hills