Last week I was in Helena for the Soles for Souls display where 1,400 pairs of shoes lined the halls of the Capitol to draw attention to the yearly tobacco deaths in Montana. I was moved by the variety of shoes, everything from hot pink stiletto heels to beaded leather moccasins,  represented how indiscriminate tobacco is as a killer of innocent people. Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable disease in Montana. In Sanders County there were 172 deaths due to tobacco from 2004-2009.

A comprehensive tobacco prevention program has been in existence in Sanders County since 2000. The Montana Tobacco Use Quitline reports 598 Sanders County tobacco users calling the quit line from May 1 2004-January 31 2011.

Republicans on the  House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate funds for tobacco prevention efforts in Montana. According to Rep John Esp “actual on the ground services for medically needy people are a priority”. This means no more Quitline, no more local tobacco prevention staff coordinating strategies to reduce tobacco use and more expense to the state and more lives lost. Experiences in other states have demonstrated that when funding for comprehensive tobacco use prevention programs has been reduced or eliminated tobacco use rises.

I urge you to call your local legislator and ask what would be  more “actual on the ground service” than the vigilant efforts of the local tobacco prevention specialists. If we do nothing,  18,000  Montana youth alive today will to die early from  tobacco related causes.

by Cindy Morgan, Trout Creek