Madam, - My three-sentence letter of April 6th concerning jaw fractures sustained by smokers outside pubs seems to have excited a media response which I doubt I would have received had I won the Nobel Prize for Medicine. I was not attempting to point out any scientific basis for my observations, only to draw attention to the fact that this was a "new story" on how facial fractures can occur.
The real genesis of this public order offence is usually excessive consumption of alcohol. If my letter has succeeded in bringing this matter to public attention and helped to prevent further facial fractures or worse injuries occurring then I am pleased. - Yours, etc.,
J. CLIFF BEIRNE, Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8.