Hey guys, really sorry I haven't done this this week! Moving house meant no internet till yesterday afternoon, sorry
A reminder that for this to work, you guys actually have to post pieces! This means
a) DO NOT read other people's attempts/feedback before writing your own
b) aim to post your piece by Friday night each week. Yes, that is in two days this week. It's short so shouldn't be hard, but the point of this is to work a little, consistently, so please DO IT for your own sake.
In the first post I'm putting the letter and all links to pieces and feedback in spoilers, so you know who to give feedback to.
This week's letter below (very short, so shouldn't take you long, and gives you a chance to delve more deeply into the language); note, I'll be posting next week's one on Monday.
Spoiler
Background: a confidential survey was run in schools which included questions about students' smoking habits and purchase. Big tobacco companies then attempted to get access to this data, presumably to target their marketing more effectively to teens.
Letter:
As a medical practitioner for half a century I have witnessed firsthand the destruction of lives by tobacco products. I view it as nothing short of evil. It is incomprehensible how anyone other than a criminal or sociopath could justify promoting and profiting from an addictive product, known to cause mortality and morbidity.
While Big Tobacco may be acting within the law, it has abandoned any pretence to be ethical or moral. For such pedlars of death to entice those of a mature age to take up such a lethal habit is shameful, but seeking to influence children to risk their health would be diabolical. I expect that employees of such companies must struggle with their inner voices. I can only assume that lawyers who defend these organisations have somehow quarantined their consciences.
Graham Lum North Rocks