Sir.-I cannot help smiling or even laughing when I read about people who are unable to live without smoking through the day.

They seem to think a ban on smoking is something new.

Having been connected with the mining industry from the age of 14, as have my brothers, father and grandfather, a smoking ban has been a way of life around mines.

Indeed, everyone was searched before proceeding underground and if they were caught with either a cigarette or match, it was instant dismissal.

Shifts were of at least eight hours and sometimes 10, which meant going without cigarettes for all that time, and I cannot remember a single person complaining.

If a miner can manage this in the cause of safety, surely it can be managed for the sake of the health of themselves and others around them.

-Delwyn Jones, e-mail.

Sir.-A non-smoking hospital should mean exactly that - no half measures.

Mary Edwards is right to ban smoking totally from the hospital.

-J Banks, Oakley.