SIR - On July 1, 2007, the nation's media, ever-ready to toe the New Labour line, told us: "England stubs out smoking", "England goes smoke free" and other such propaganda.

The fact that our hospitals are crawling with killer bacteria thanks to medical staff who steadfastly refuse to wash their hands, and PFI-sourced cleaners who wouldn't know the difference between a bacterium and a Bactrian camel, demonstrates the Government's lack of concern for the nation's health.

So what is the purpose of the smoking ban? The answer, as Adolf Hitler would have put it , is "Kontrol" - showing the plebs who's boss.

While tobacco helps its users to deal with stress and may also be seen as an act of defiance not to be tolerated in a totalitarian state, it does not stupefy and demotivate them so that they neither know nor care what the Government is doing to them or to their country.

We are being deluged with anti-smoking propaganda, along with endless advertisements for extortionately expensive quit-smoking products.

But do not expect similar campaigns to be waged against cannabis and heroin. The government clearly believes that these substances are doing a very good job.

Noel A Shaw, Thornton Road, Thornton.