Thanks to Hemlata Rai for emphasising that alcoholism is a disease that can be contained ("Nepal's anonymous alcoholism", #125). But the Nepali public is also seeing huge billboards enticing them to identify unrealistically with a generation of high-fliers. The alcohol and cigarette industries have latched on to youth interests in sports and entertainment to launch tremendously successful campaigns that erroneously link booze and butts to success and achievement. I curse the day universities started giving degrees in advertising. Joining the latest research in subliminal psychology with marketing is unethical because it uses information about unconscious recesses of the mind to stimulate desire for a product. People don't even know they're being had. The consumer is turned into a captive customer. To make matters worse, donor funding for recovery program is non-existent. Whatever happened to the right to choose between hard reduction or complete elimination?

Mike Krajniak,
Kathmandu

. As Hemlata Rai points out, there are various factors that contribute to alcoholism here. But the biggest factor is that it is cheap, very widely available and sold to anyone. A 10-year-old could walk down to the corner shop for a bottle of vodka. But I am glad to see that AA type of organisations are now working to tackle the problem. Prevention is better than cure, and we need to focus on underage drinkers so they don't become alcohol dependent in future. The media also needs to target youngster to stress alcoholism is an illness with fatal consequences.

Dr A Thapa-Hamal,
UK