GRAND FORKS -- Measure 3 will require the state to spend more money from the 1998 tobacco settlement where it was intended: on a comprehensive Centers for Disease Control-based, statewide tobacco-prevention program. No tax money will be used to pay for the new tobacco prevention programs. Only money that comes into North Dakota as a result of the tobacco settlement will be used.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Measure 3 would reduce youth smoking by 12.7 percent and prevent 4,570 North Dakota kids from becoming addicted smokers. It will prompt more than 3,500 adult smokers to quit, save more than 2,380 North Dakotans from dying prematurely from smoking and produce $113 million in future health care savings.
By preventing smoking, Measure 3 would not only improve health and save lives but also save money and strengthen the economy.
Tobacco kills more than 900 North Dakotans every year and costs the state $247 million just in annual health care costs. Every year, 800 kids in North Dakota become regular smokers. Smoking is one of the primary causes of cancer, heart disease and lung disease.
About 20 percent of North Dakota adults smoke. This rate has remained basically unchanged for more than a decade. More than 21 percent of high school students still smoke, and 20 percent of high school males use spit tobacco.
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CDC-funded programs are evidence-based and really work. It's time to make a difference in North Dakota's health. It's time to do the right thing and spend tobacco settlement dollars on tobacco prevention.
Vote yes on Measure 3. Go to www.stpnd.org for more information.
