It’s well known that smoking kills. My grandmother died from metastatic lung cancer, and my aunt is a survivor of metastatic lung cancer. Both were smokers.

Smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Colorado and adds significant financial burden to the health care system and taxpayer-funded health programs.

The most effective way to reduce smoking, based on evidence, is by increasing the tax on cigarettes and tobacco products.

It’s time to do that in Colorado by passing Amendment 72. It will raise the tax by $1.75 per pack of cigarettes and will prevent more than 34,000 kids from becoming smokers, save over 20,000 lives and over $1.4 billion in future health care costs.

Tobacco companies are waging a high-priced campaign against Amendment 72 – pushing bogus claims to distract and confuse voters.

Remember who we’re talking about – an industry that has made repeated claims about cigarettes being harmless.

The fact is that more than 80 organizations in Colorado including major doctors and health care groups support Amendment 72.

Vote “yes” on Amendment 72 to save lives, stop more kids from getting hooked, and raise money for health programs and research that will reduce injury and death caused by smoking.

Nikki Brandes

Durango