Voting yes on I 185 is the right thing to do

I was sold on voting yes I 185 early on just to prevent 100,000 Montanans from losing their health care coverage. But I was significantly more convinced when I recently was shown a Juul, a small little nicotine-ingesting gadget that looks like a USB thumb drive, which would be easily disguised on any computer desk. Tobacco companies have engaged their superior marketing techniques to address the decline in cigarette use and find a way to appeal to youth. And, I’m sad to say, they’ve succeeded.

As a father of five, three of which are under 18, I am compelled to protect them from the savvy gimmicks designed to appeal to our electronic-adoring youth, including mine. Our teenagers don’t view these devices the same as cigarettes and seem to believe claims that vapes are less harmful. The fact is that less harmful or not (and I don’t really believe that), I don’t want your children or mine to become addicted to anything, particularly something that has devastating effects on their health later in life.

In August the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner declared youth vaping as an epidemic. Big tobacco seems convinced they can continue to manipulate today’s young adults with sleek-looking devices and flavors like mango, cotton candy and mocha. As with so many risky behaviors available by free will, using electronic cigs can only lead to one result: people addicted to nicotine.

Advocating for young people in Montana came to the forefront of my professional career the day I took the CEO position at Shodair Children’s Hospital almost three years ago. Through inpatient and outpatient care, clinics and telemedicine statewide, Shodair served more than 1,700 patients last year. Many of those families are underprivileged and need our voices to speak up for them. Shodair has been dedicated to serving Montana families for more than 122 years and that resonates today in the fact that 99 percent of our patients are from Montana.

Our services are provided to patients regardless of a family’s ability to pay, and Medicaid accounts for about 75 percent of our psychiatric patients. Most of you have heard about the correlation between those with mental illness and substance abuse. Nicotine, alcohol and drugs easily become a coping mechanism for those amid trauma.

There will always be those who venture down the path of choosing risky behaviors, but some will be able to resist, armed with individual coping skills. I 185 provides us with additional tools to detour future smokers, provide new funding for mental health and veteran programing. It adds a $2 per-pack tax on tobacco products and changes statutes to include e-cigs and vapes, which are now completely not taxed.

The facts are that the fiscal note with his initiative adds new money into veteran and mental illness programs upon passage. Despite claims, it’s balanced because Medicare Expansion recipients pay a premium, the state and feds provide reimbursements, and the new revenue generated from the tax covers what budget experts say it will cost. The numbers just add up.

It’s challenging for a grassroots effort in Montana to be as visible as the more than $12 million big tobacco has spent on advertising in this state. We may be small in numbers, and our financial impact doesn’t stand a chance, but we are determined to see this through and motivated by advocating for the 100,000 Montana residents whose health care coverage will go away without action.

Voting yes on I 185 is simply the right thing to do.

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Craig Aasved is a Montana native and currently the CEO at Shodair Children’s Hospital, which serves residents across Montana.