Sir, - I refer to your recent Editorial relating to the report published by the Department of Health on heart disease in Ireland entitled "Building Healthier Hearts".
It appears from this report that deaths in Ireland from heart disease are approximately double the EU average.
I understand that the Minister for Health and Children intends to put a levy on cigarettes in order to try to combat this situation. However, nobody seems to have noticed that cigarette consumption in Ireland is close to the EU average.
It must be concluded, therefore, that the increased incidence of deaths from heart disease in Ireland has nothing to do with cigarette consumption. So I ask: why should smokers be asked to pay? - Yours, etc.,
Sheila Cathcart, Cherrywood Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.