Madam, - Does anyone really think adding a levy to a packet of chewing gum will raise the awareness of people who gladly fork out up to a fiver for a pint? Will "education" stick as surely as gum does to the footpath?
We all know how bad smoking and speeding and drinking are for us, yet these nasty habits provide patients for many of our ever-waning supply of hospital beds.
Maybe the time is right to adopt Singapore's policy of a total ban. People there don't seem to be too depressed about the absence of chewy mints, and as we have seen with the new smoking laws most people will accept and applaud a new "nanny state" policy once they can see the benefit for themselves.
I'm not averse to the odd chew every now and then, but I wouldn't cry if I couldn't get my Wrigley's. And anyone who does can go and scrape the streets. - Yours, etc.,
PHILIP LEE, Heathervue, Greystones, Co Wicklow.