Richard Klein and Elizabeth Whelan, on opposite sides of the fence
on the proposed deal between big tobacco and the government, do
have one thing in common: they are equally clueless about the
significance of the deal (editorial page, June 26).

Prof. Klein, apparently has never heard of the drug war and therefore
doesn't realize he has written a near-perfect indictment of its logic. He
is so clueless, in fact, that his Chicken Little warnings about impending
tobacco prohibition artlessly refer to it as "Prohibition II."
Mrs. Whelan on the other hand, is distressed because she doesn't see
a guarantee of tobacco prohibition. She apparently thinks the drug war
(which she also leaves unmentioned) is a raging success.

Those of us blessed with a logical turn of mind see the deal as a
model by which a responsible government might craft a realistic and
effective strategy for dealing with addictive and dangerous
psychoactives, one based on regulation of a legal market, rather than
futile suppression of an illegal one. Of course, waiting for responsible
government may be as hopeless as waiting for the fourth estate to wake
up to reality. But one can always hope.

THOMAS J. O'CONNELL, M.D.
San Mateo. Calif.