My mother was a lifelong smoker. My sister and I used to hide her cigarettes, tossing cartons down the laundry chute or stuffing them in the trash.
I’m proud of my mom for quitting, but I’ve known too many people who never could. Smoking is the number-one cause of preventable death in Colorado, killing more than 5,000 Coloradans each year. That’s more than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.
The best ways to reduce the death toll from smoking are to stop people from starting and to help them quit. That’s exactly what Amendment 72 will do, by raising the price of cigarettes and investing the resulting revenue in tobacco prevention and cessation efforts, medical research, and community health programs.
Colorado’s tobacco tax has fallen behind that of most states, which is one of the reasons we saw an increase in cigarette sales last year. Amendment 72 will reverse that trend.
The tobacco industry understands this too. That’s why it’s spending millions of dollars to fight this initiative. The industry stands to lose customers just as surely as we stand to save lives.
When you watch the opposition’s advertising, consider the source. The same industry fighting Amendment 72 insisted that cigarettes were harmless and costs every Colorado household more than $700 per year.
On the other side of this debate – in support of this initiative – are the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and more than 75 other public health organizations. Mental Health Colorado joined this coalition not only because we share an interest in discouraging smoking but also because we want to improve mental health.
Amendment 72 will invest an estimated $34 million per year in child and adolescent mental health care, including evidence-based prevention, early intervention and treatment programs. The initiative will also dedicate an estimated $48 million per year to meeting the physical and mental health needs of veterans.
Avoid $1.4 billion in health care costs. Prevent 34,000 kids from becoming smokers. And save 20,000 lives. Vote yes on Amendment 72.
Andrew Romanoff served as the speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. He is now the president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, the state’s leading advocate for the prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.
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