EDITOR—Freemantle et al's editorial on the use of statins started a debate on treatment with cholesterol lowering drugs. 1 2 The subsequent editorial by Muldoon and Criqui,3 and many of the letters on this issue,2 continued to focus on identifying a level of absolute risk reduction at which treatment of patients at risk of coronary heart disease would be advised and, presumably, paid for by a healthcare service provider. In our opinion, most of the discussion failed to separate the issue of rational policy …