When I initially read the column by State Rep. Jay Barrows published June 11, my first response was that it was just another round of political pontification. However, as I thought about what was presented, I feel compelled to respond to a political viewpoint that ultimately derives from a misunderstanding of a representative's job description.

Rep. Barrows presents the viewpoint that banning excessive amounts of trans-fats in food served by restaurants is excessive intervention and meddling by the government. He further states that in this free society, if people choose to do things that harm themselves, such as smoking, they should be free to do so. If the issue of trans-fats was in fact trivial, as he implies, and if people who smoked harmed only themselves, then I would agree with Rep. Barrows. I can only believe that Rep. Barrows misunderstands the complexity these issues and that is why he voted the way he did.

It is only relatively recently that trans-fats have been definitively recognized as the most potent risk factor ever found for the development of heart attack and stroke. Establishing this required a 14-year landmark study in which more than a million patient years of observation occurred. The study was done by the research group at Harvard School of Public Health and was headed by Dr. Walter Willett. Since its publication in 1997, definitive governmental action has been slow or nonexistent. The FDA currently recommends label changes but there has been no national regulation designed to limit exposure of our population to these artificial and dangerous chemicals. These substances are totally unnecessary to include in our foods but continue to be used in foods primarily out of tradition. The epidemic of heart attack and stroke, which this society seems to have thought of as normal aging, did not exist prior to the presence of trans-fats in our foods. The epidemic began approximately 20 years after the introduction of these substances in 1900. There is much scientific data to suggest that when trans-fats are removed from our food supply, a substantial portion of vascular disease will disappear.

Trans-fats in our foods and tobacco use are the two most vexing social issues in this society which create a vast burden of degradation of health and preventable disease. These are issues which extend beyond the personal impact of watching friends and family members succumb to preventable death and terrible morbidity. Our financial health as a society also depends on coming to grips in a meaningful way with these problems. There is frequent discussion questioning how we will possibly pay for the projected increase in Medicare and Social Security costs over the next 30-40 years. What better way to deal with that problem is there than by reducing the tremendous burden of totally preventable disease in the society?

In one way Rep. Barrows is correct. Why should state and city governments across this country have to act in their local jurisdiction as the only remedy to protect the health of people in this country? The research data is definitive. Based on the conclusion of the research, the production and sale of this material should be banned outright, not just regulated. In my view, having done nothing definitive with regard to trans-fats over the last 10 years represents a colossal failure of governing responsibility at the level of our national government. With regard to smoking, as I said above, if smoking truly harmed only those who smoked, then I would feel somewhat less extreme about it. But in the real world, smoking vastly increases the cost of healthcare in this country. Furthermore, smokers use a disproportionate share of walk-in medical facilities as well as hospital beds. I think it is fair to ask Rep. Barrows to lobby not just for the freedom of smokers to destroy their health but to protect my freedoms as well. I want to be free of my tax dollars and my health insurance dollars being squandered on the escalating cost of treating totally preventable disease. I want the freedom to be able to walk into a restaurant and eat food that I know does not directly increase my risk of developing vascular disease.

In conclusion, Rep. Barrows, I would request that to protect my freedoms, you file a bill to ban the sale and production of trans-fats in the state of Massachusetts. I would further ask that you file a bill that would ban the production and sale of tobacco products in the state of Massachusetts. Many may chuckle at this request, but I will predict this legislation will eventually become reality. They have to. We cannot afford the social and financial costs that these two issues create in our society.

DR. JULIAN KADISH of Norton is an emergency medical physician at Milford-Whitinsville Hospital.