Annie's Mailbox® by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar

Dear Annie: My husband and I have a good friend, "Steve," who is a manager at a company where my husband used to work. My husband is still pretty close to a lot of the people there.

Steve has access to the property 24/7 and has been stealing cash from the company. There is absolutely no accountability in his position and plenty of ways to cover his tracks so no one will be the wiser.

My question is, should we tell the general manager what we know or just look away? It kills me that Steve is taking money and who knows what else and getting away with it, especially since he is in a management position and should know better. If we inform the GM, should we do it anonymously by letter and let him check it out, or should we tell him in person? — Know Too Much

Dear Know: Are you 100 percent certain Steve is stealing? If so, the GM should be informed. If you are willing to risk your friendship with Steve in order to talk directly with the GM, by all means, do so. Otherwise, an anonymous letter, e-mail or phone call will alert him to the problem. After that, it's up to him.

Dear Annie: Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in America, yet tobacco products are exempt from basic health regulations that apply to other products we consume, such as food and drugs.

As a teen and especially as a girl, I am continuously targeted by the tobacco companies. In the past two years, the industry has launched an aggressive marketing campaign to depict cigarette smoking as feminine and fashionable, rather than the harmful and deadly addiction it is. Cigarettes are now packed to look like perfume and as things called "purse packs." Considering lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of women, these cigarettes are putting the health of girls like my friends and me at risk.

I have never been one to just sit around and complain, so I joined the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as a youth advocate leading the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences.

The campaign is working to change public attitudes and policies on tobacco, prevent kids from smoking, and help young smokers to quit.

Your readers can get involved by visiting tobaccofreekids.org and learning more about FDA legislation that would regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products. They can also learn about how they can raise awareness about tobacco-related disease prevention. Thanks for your help spreading the word. It's time to show tobacco companies they can't target women and kids anymore. — Auriel Rolle-Polk, age 17, Tallahassee, Fla.

Dear Auriel: We appreciate your wise words and the helpful information. It's a great website and we hope our young readers will take a look.

Dear Annie: You weren't tough enough with "Concerned Mother," who worried about whether her husband's persistent verbal and physical abuse of their 5-year-old son would have any effect on his self-esteem.

With an abusive father and a clueless mother, this poor boy is lucky if he doesn't spend the rest of his life on a therapist's couch. The father is re-enacting his own miserable childhood, and even if she could get him to a therapist, it won't change him enough to undo the damage already done. If that mother wants mentally healthy children, she should start packing all their bags now. — Been There

Dear Been There: Nothing can undo what's been done, but if Dad can learn to change his behavior (and it's possible), a healthy, intact family would be the best outcome.

Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. To find out more about Annie's Mailbox, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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