Susan Reimer is a prescient, witty, and eloquent columnist who has informed and entertained me for years. But today's column, "Body image issues get a new meaning" (Jan. 11) would be better delivered by a late-night TV comedian than in an op-ed piece.

Ms. Reimer's columns usually have a serious thread running through them, even when delivered in a completely whimsical style, but her discussion of whole body security screening is totally uninformed. Calling pat-downs "unpleasant" and suggesting that the images produced by the body scans render the subject "naked" indicates that she has been asleep during the entire debate on the increased security measures. I wonder if she considers being blown out of the sky "unpleasant"?

In Baltimore, the scanners do not produce "gamma rays" but "millimeter" rays, about as dangerous as the cell phones in near-universal use. She could have learned the truth merely by reading her fellow columnist, Michael Dresser, who has discussed these issues in a sane and careful way. I realize that the "op" in "op-ed" signifies "opinion," but Susan Reimer's opinions on this issue are rather off the mark.

Dr. A. Brinton Cooper III, Bel Air

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