Smoke is a major trigger. Carcinogenic fine particulates go deep into our lungs. They cross over into our bloodstream and travel to other organs.

This is why our health department should not claim people just get better when the smoke stops.

The EPA does a good job with our smoke regulations and air quality monitoring.

Councils do a good job in managing smoke from domestic wood heaters and backyard burning.

Our fire services are gearing up to be able to provide sufficient response to hit bushfires hard and fast thus reducing harmful smoke.

However, our forest industries need to be mindful that their burns can cause many Tasmanians to suffer breathing difficulties which add to our health budget.

When you can't breathe nothing else matters.

Clive Stott, Grindelwald.

I read the support for the Spirit of Tasmania moving to Geelong from a resident of Port Fairy.

The population of Port Fairy is 3000, so less than two sailings on the new ferries if the whole town came.

Meanwhile, the population of Melbourne is 5,200,000 who are on the wrong side of Geelong and will be forced to use the most congested freeway road in Victoria which is frequently stationary, as will, of course, NSW or Queensland travellers.

What is tourism's target market?

If this is because Tasmania is trying to save money then you can save even more money by closing Launceston Airport and redirecting all travellers via Hobart.

The driving time and inconvenience are similar to moving the Spirit to Geelong.

And it's an easier drive to Hobart.

Roger Imrie, Bridport.

IF you are buying items online or in stores, now, more than ever is the time to buy locally produced goods and from Aussie owned outlets.

Check the small print (and discover as I did) for example, that a well-known brand of sugar-free chewing gum is now made in China. Yep, I took it back for a refund.

Also, many of us had no idea Virgin Australia was at least 90 per cent foreign-owned. There is no way our government should bail the airline out, let its owners who have deep pockets do that, and for goodness sake don't get me started on the AFL who are contemplating on asking for a handout via memberships from Aussie battlers and state government assistance.

My blood boils.

Robert Lee, Summerhill.

IF the government banned all tobacco products tomorrow our country would be a better place for it.

The government, on one hand, might be losing millions in tax revenue but on the other hand giving thousands of people a better quality of life and taking pressure off the health system.

More people would live longer and enjoy life better.

Wayne Wells, Longford.

PRESIDENT Trump's confession of being a "very stable genius" was questioned recently with his assertion that an injection of disinfectant would help fight coronavirus.

Former New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michiko Kakutani's book The Death Of Truth mentions the presidential genius numerous times. This may indicate the position of the president has exceeded his capacity at the expense of the US people.

Kenneth Gregson, Swansea.

TO AVOID further slippage in the polls, President Trump would do well to consider social distancing himself from Twitter and official daily Whitehouse briefings.

The dreadful United States coronavirus statistics are best left to the medical experts to address.

Ed Sianski, West Moonah.

DIPLOMACY is a finely tuned art.

COVID-19 has brought more pressure to bear than normal and so we find the two superpowers China and the US are at loggerheads. First of all, there does need to be an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus and how it was able to rapidly escalate into a global pandemic.

That said what we do right now is more down to diplomacy than hairy-chested insinuations. Donald Trump attacked the WHO and its alleged bias towards China, not because of the pressing need for an independent inquiry, but to deflect attention from his own ineptitude.

The next day Eric Abetz had a piece published attacking the WHO in this very newspaper and our federal government, while continuing to support the WHO, were affirming some of Trump's sentiments. As much as we want to and need to hold China to account.

As much as we want to and need to address all manner of what products we rely on, where they are produced and how they are supplied, we simply cannot be seen to be Trump's echo chamber.

This is not the action of a bold Prime Minister. This is dumb diplomacy.

Tony Newport, Hillwood.