I AM irritated by yet another fingerwagging law, this one about the age for buying and selling cigarettes (customers aged 18 OK, 16 now illegal).

My eldest son joined the Army when he was 17. Presumably he was then deemed old enough to die for his country. Nowadays that same country would not even sell him a packet of fags.

It is the job of MPs to make laws, so why are they so bad at it? This is not to promote smoking, but have they never heard of matters of degree?

Geoff Taylor, Darlington.