I would like to urge anyone who values the health and well being of our children and loved ones to vote yes on Measure No. 3. This measure would mean that the monies that were given to the state of North Dakota as part of the tobacco settlement over 10 years ago will be used for what it was intended for … to help our loved ones stop smoking and to teach our young people about the hazards and consequences of tobacco.

As a respiratory therapist for 20 years, I have seen many people suffer needlessly from the consequences of cigarette smoke. Those suffering are not just the smokers, but the young children who have been hospitalized due to respiratory difficulties caused by their parents' smoking.

The people I have taken care of with COPD, emphysema or lung cancer due to tobacco use are just like you and I . They did not choose to get these life-changing illnesses, and I would like to think that given the opportunity to have smoking cessation and tobacco education classes, they may have quit before their lungs were diseased or damaged, or best of all, may not have even started using tobacco at all.

Again, Measure No. 3 will not cause an increase in my taxes or yours. The money to fund smoking cessation and education programs is already in the North Dakota coffers. Voting yes on Measure No. 3 just makes good sense. I urge you to vote yes on Measure No. 3 to assure we use this money as it was intended.