The NY Times printed a letter today which talked about activists complaining that the cure for AIDS is too expensive, or being promoted too heavily. Did we find a cure and no one told me?

AIDS Is Not a Glamorous Disease (5 Letters)

To the Editor:

In the mid-1980's, the complaint was that a cure for AIDS was not being developed quickly enough. In the mid-90's, the complaint was that the cure was too expensive. Now Harvey Fierstein (Op-Ed, July 31) argues that the cure is promoted too aggressively. What are pharmaceutical companies to do? The wonder is that they have invested any money at all in trying to find a cure for an infection so "completely avoidable."

I am grateful that these companies have taken the financial risk and discovered treatments, however imperfect. Let them advertise any way they choose. The only people who believe that advertising can cause people to engage in risky behavior are the ad men themselves.

TED S. LEVY
Weston, Conn., July 31, 2003

Letter to the editor may be to letters@nytimes.com.