LEGAL KILLERS

Tam Dalyell seems all too willing to accept the Home Office's belief
that heroin and cocaine are the most harmful drugs (8 November, p 51).
I doubt he has seen any evidence that these illegal drugs are more
harmful than the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco.

The World Health Organisation estimates that tobacco use contributes
to 6% of deaths, alcohol 1.5% and illegal drugs a mere 0.2% of deaths.
Of course tobacco use is more common than illegal drug use but only by
a factor of about 6.

Our current discriminatory drug laws are based on prejudice rather
than evidence. As a result the law misleads people - especially the
young - into believing that legal drugs are safer than illegal drugs.
This inevitably contributes to the death toll from alcohol and tobacco.