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Regulation of tobacco - Berkeley Rulon-Miller, 1/26/01 10:28AM

Dear Sirs or Mesdames;
 
    I vigorously protest any effort by the United States government to regulate, control, or affect my constitutionally guarantied right to acquire, consume or dispose of a legal product (in this case, tobacco).
 
    As a citizen of this country, I deeply resent the continuous intrusion of this government into my affairs. I have never received a dime of government money (my education from kindergarten to graduate school has been entirely private); I am privately insured, and I am fully prepared to deal with the financial consequences of my actions. I have, nonetheless, been burdened by the government mandated taxes on my consumption of tobacco products and by the price increases which are the direct result of the payoffs and bribes made to the tort lawyers and the plaintiff's bar.
 
    You are beginning to get dangerously close to making me both a criminal and disabled, not to mention the insult to my intelligence. By the way, I run four miles quite easily after thirty years of moderate tobacco consumption and have completed a marathon in 3 hours, 21 minutes.
 
 
                                            Very truly yours,
 
                                                        Berkeley Rulon-Miller