Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jan 2014
Source: Times, The (Trenton, NJ)
Copyright: 2014 The Times
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Author: Kirk Muse

TOBACCO CASUALTIES ARE FRONT-PAGE NEWS

Why do heroin and other illegal-drug deaths often make the front page 
("Heroin overdoses increase in Mercer County," Jan. 26), while deaths 
caused by tobacco rarely get mentioned, even in the obituary notices?

Our annual tobacco vs. all-illegal-drugs-combined kill ratio is about 
23.5 to 1 (400,000 vs. 17,000). And the vast majority of our 17,000 
deaths from illegal drugs are because the drugs are illegal.

Because certain (politically selected) drugs, such as heroin, are 
illegal, they are of unknown quality, unknown purity and unknown 
potency - just like alcohol was when it was illegal.

- -- Kirk Muse,

Mesa, Az.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom