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Editor:
I am grateful for Jill Dellamalva's column ("Eliminate tobacco companies to stop teen smoking," Sept. 5) and wish that our government could abolish these sources of sickness, premature death, fires and higher insurance costs. Given the problems of attaining the goal, we cannot wait for the government.
Dellamalva identifies two subsidiaries which we certainly should not patronize. Think of that the next time you shop for cookies and crackers (just say "no" to Nabisco) or processed foods (Kraft). Think of that when the Red Cross volunteers offer you Nabisco cookies after donating blood.
Faculty on Teachers' Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equity Fund should think of that when CREF sends its report of investments (see under "Tobacco"). CREF and alternative retirement investments offer "Social Choice" alternatives which screen out tobacco, alcohol, and clear-cut forestry investments. Think of teenage smoking when you write your representative and senators about federal budget problems and demand that tobacco subsidies be cut. There are many things we can do besides not smoking while we wait for the government to do it!.
William Calder
professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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