Chelsey Matter, Bismarck, letter: A breath of fresh air in North Dakota

BISMARCK — The residents of North Dakota have spoken, and they’ve chosen to clear the air.

Measure 4 passed overwhelmingly, making almost all workplaces smoke free and saving countless lives in the process.

Measure 4 passed in every county in the state, sending a strong message that the protection of the public’s health is a priority.

Thank you to all the North Dakotans who signed the Smoke-Free North Dakota petition to make a vote possible on this issue. Thank you to the volunteers who helped collect the signatures.

Smoke-Free North Dakota collected more than 21,000 signatures in five weeks, a true testament to our volunteers’ unwavering dedication and passion for the cause.

Tobacco use has been ingrained into our culture and sadly continues to take our loved ones from us. We ran into countless people and stories while collecting signatures, and those stories are why it’s crucial to continue our work in ending the tobacco epidemic.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in North Dakota. Comprehensive smoke-free legislation is sweeping the entire world and is critically important for the health of the communities involved.

Smoke-free laws improve indoor air quality and reduce heart-attack and lung-disease hospital admissions.

North Dakota now has a chance to see these positive health impacts.

We can all breathe a little easier knowing North Dakota is smoke free.

Chelsey Matter

Matter is chairman of Smoke Free North Dakota.

Tags: in the mail, secondhand smoke, nd politics, measure 4, opinion, smoking, health, elections, updates