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Nine out of 10 smokers started before the age of 18

Alison Harrington

Bismarck

I know how important tobacco prevention is, because 9 out of 10 smokers started before the age of 18, according to the CDC. I witness this every day as a certified tobacco treatment specialist when I counsel smokers to quit.

I’m also a respiratory therapist, so I’ve seen first-hand the damage tobacco does to the body. The younger patients were when they started, the harder it is for them to break free of their addiction to nicotine. Unfortunately, I’ve even treated a smoker who started at age 5.

Yes, tobacco is still a problem. Yes, our young people are at risk if we stop fighting it now.

The tobacco companies want our children to be the next generation of smokers to replace the 480,000 people who die every year from a tobacco-related disease.

BreatheND is making remarkable ground in the fight against tobacco, having cut the youth smoking rate in half and reduced the adult smoking rate. I know this program is saving valuable lives and much needed dollars.

I voted to create BreatheND, along with the majority of North Dakotans, because I work with many people who would have benefited from a comprehensive statewide prevention program. Now, I’m standing up to defend BreatheND and urging legislators to listen. North Dakotans want this program to stay because it delivers the results we asked for. The will of the people can’t be ignored by legislators.

Supporting SB 2024 is the right thing to do, and it’s the smart thing to do to let BreatheND keep saving money and lives in North Dakota.

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