Letters: `Victims' rush to blame someone

Sir: In "Tarred with the brush of blame" (28 September) we read of British smokers jumping on the litigation bandwagon set in motion across the Atlantic.

As a doctor I see daily the havoc wreaked by cigarettes, and I have little sympathy with tobacco companies. I am, however, sick of the victim culture into which we seem to be degenerating. It seems people are not prepared to accept any responsibility for their own lives. Freedoms they want; rights they demand - but responsibility is rejected. Were these poor people forced to smoke?

Where will it end? If my picnic gets rained off should I sue the Met Office? If I slip on an icy pavement should I sue the town council? If I have a traffic accident should I sue the manufacturer of my car? Is it not time we remembered that we are accountable for our own actions, before we automatically look for someone else to blame when things go wrong?

HUGH J THOMSON

Consultant Surgeon

Birmingham