SIR - Whatever the pros and cons of the smoking ban, there are two points which stand out for concern.

The first is that as a supposedly tolerant' society, we are surely bound to defend the rights of minorities.

Provision should therefore be made for those who still enjoy the pleasures of a cigarette. Smoking rooms should therefore be accessible, as I gather they are in the House of Parliament, and, of course, prisons!

The second point is that the last person to try to ban smoking was Adolph Hitler, in Nazi Germany!

That should tell us something! After all, we have already taken a leaf out of his book by ratifying the Contingency Bill, which was based on his Enabling Bill', in a totalitarian state!

As for myself, I have smoked in moderation for many years, never where people were eating, or indeed in church!

Now, as a staunch defender of individual liberties, the result is that I tend to increase my intake, if only in the name of Human Rights.

Someone has to call a halt to this pernicious dictatorship.

Pamela B McCallum, Market Street, Thornton