Times letters: Sunak's smoking ban and individual liberty

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Sir, In their classic 1950 study of patients in London hospitals, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Austin Bradford Hill reported the first evidence that smoking causes lung cancer. Their subsequent long-term study of 40,000 UK doctors firmly established that smoking not only caused lung cancer but also a wide range of other life-shortening conditions. Why, in the words of Doll, "this evil business has been allowed to continue for so long" must be difficult to comprehend for families of loved ones who have died prematurely from smoking. The 2024 Tobacco and Vapes Bill, as your editorial "Fake Freedom" (Apr 17) rightly says, is an exceptional public health measure in that it re-establishes legislative momentum to remove this global scourge. However, the next government