Letters

YOUR article on smoke-free areas in pubs (Echo, Aug 17) covered FOREST's latest research but failed to highlight that it is funded by the tobacco industry to the tune of 96 per cent.

This may explain why its survey addressed a policy that no one is advocating, ie a total ban on smoking in pubs.

What public health experts do advocate is that non-smokers should be given the choice of proper smoke-free areas in pubs and restaurants. We do so on the grounds that passive smoking is accepted by all credible scientific authorities as an important risk to public health.

FOREST cannot see the wood for the trees on the issue of smoking in public places because its tobacco industry paymasters do not want any restrictions on smoking. Consequently, it is out of touch with publicans and even many smokers who do not want to eat their food in a smokey atmosphere.

Nobody wants to ban smoking in pubs. However, every day more pubs and restaurants are finding that smoke-free areas are good for business. Publicans should listen to their customers and potential customers and not misleading surveys carried out by the tobacco industry's cronies. - Dr Richard Edwards, Lecturer in Public Health Medicine, Department of Public Health, Newcastle University.

RAIL TRAVEL

THREE weeks before this August Bank Holiday my daughter and her fiance tried to book cheap rail tickets from Kings Cross to Darlington over the Internet and were shocked to discover the cost would be over £122. And one of them has a Railcard!

A call to the credit card booking centre confirmed the news.

Now of course they will travel by car, as it is much cheaper.

It is a public holiday but they were prepared to travel as off peak as was necessary, which means not all the trains can be that full and there are additional services running.

It begs the questions, how many cheap tickets were on offer and were there any at all?

Perhaps if we had another company running on the line, customers could enjoy a better selection of prices and services. After all, that is what is happening with airlines who fly the same routes.

There is no competition on the East Coast mainline, only a monopoly. In my family's case there was no incentive to use public transport and that is what should be happening, for the benefit of travellers and the environment. - CJ Blair, Darlington.

SECTION 28

F WEALANDS (HAS, Aug 16)) blames Tony Blair for, amongst other things, bringing homosexuality into schools.

Homosexuality brings itself into schools, as does heterosexuality, asthma, sporting prowess, musical ability and freckles, to name but a few of the characteristics of people who teach, learn or otherwise work in schools.

The abolition of Section 28 seeks to emphasise and integrate this diversity. - Ann Cuthbert, Darlington.

GREAT BRITISH SWIM

AS team captain for this year's Great British Swim in October, I appeal to you to take the plunge and join this unique swimming event to raise money for the National Asthma Campaign - the independent UK charity working to conquer asthma.

Swimming is one of the best all-round forms of exercise - building stamina, strength and mobility - and anyone can do it! You don't have to be an Olympic swimmer like me to participate. Whether you're a club swimmer or someone who simply enjoys an occasional dip in the local pool, the Great British Swim is the event for you.

Why not get into shape, improve your fitness and make a real difference to the lives of people with asthma? Being one of the 3.4 million people in the UK who have asthma, I know how important it is to raise cash to find the causes and treatments for this long term condition.

This year's goal is to reach the team target of £240,000 and to swim the combined distance of the length of the UK coastline - a total of 6,629 miles.

To find out how you can get involved, call Great British Swim organiser Clare Green on 020 7704 5861. - Karen Pickering MBE, Commonwealth, European and World Championship medallist.

EURO

WE used to have the Flat Earthers, amazingly we still have the Creationists, who incredibly believe the earth was created by divine intervention around 10,000 years ago.

And now we have the "keep the pounders".

No matter that soon we will be out of step with our major competitors and allies and countless thousands of jobs depend on the UK in time joining the euro, these head-in-the-sand nationalists will join the dole queues singing Rule Britannia.

When the time is right we will have a referendum on this issue.

When the European countries are united with a common currency we will see the end of the speculators and banks will no longer make millions from holiday travellers.

If the "keep the pounders" win the day, then heaven help us, and if that happens I, as a Scot, hope Scotland becomes a sovereign nation and embraces the euro and supports the EEC wholeheartedly. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

RACIAL HARMONY

I MUST respond to recent letters from Andrew Lightfoot.

The fact is that the British have never been a homogenous race as Mr Lightfoot has tried to suggest. The British have always been an amalgam of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Normans, Vikings, Romans and Celts.

Also, Britain has always been a beacon for the oppressed, from the French Hugenots of the 16th Century to the Poles who fought with us against the Nazis in the 20th Century.

He also ignores the contribution that the immigrants have made to British society over the years, many have become doctors, scientists and lawyers.

Mr Lightfoot is going to have to realise that we live in a multi-cultural society and the sooner he gets used to the idea the better. - Martin Jones (Liberal Democrat), Spennymoor.