by OnSight | Nov 2016 | Campaign, Tobacco Tax
Sadly, Amendment 72 did not pass in Colorado last night.
Philip Morris steamrolled this election with a $17 million advertising blitz that deceived voters about Amendment 72. Having been outspent 14 to 1 on advertising, we couldn’t overcome Philip Morris’ smear campaign.
This is a major setback for Colorado in the fight against the number one cause of preventable death in our state. Amendment 72 would have reduced smoking, especially among children, and would have invested money in programs to support veterans and those most harmed by smoking.
We are proud of our positive campaign that was supported by over 100 organizations and endorsed by Governor Hickenlooper and the state’s most influential newspapers. We will bring a tobacco tax back to Colorado voters and win on behalf of our children and our commitment to saving lives and reducing health care costs for everyone.
by OnSight | Oct 2016 | Elections, Tobacco Tax
Big Tobacco — not an industry known for sticking to the truth under pressure — is spending $10 million dollars to mislead voters about Amendment 72. We want to give you the tools to answer questions you might be getting from family and friends about why they should vote YES on Amendment 72.
Click on the image or links to learn more and share this important information!
Q: WHY SHOULD WE RAISE TAXES ON CIGARETTES?
If there’s one thing that the Centers for Disease Control, the Surgeon General, and Phillip Morris agree on, it’s this: raising the price of cigarettes is the best way to get people to stop smoking, and to stop kids from starting.
Based on studies of tobacco tax increases all over the country, Amendment 72 is predicted to prevent more than 34,000 kids from becoming smokers, save over 20,000 lives and save over $1.4 billion in future health care costs.
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Q: WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO?
Contrary to ads being funding by tobacco companies, all of the money raised by Amendment 72 is dedicated to programs that will directly benefit those most impacted by smoking. From programs to help people quit to medical research on smoking-related diseases like lung cancer; from veterans health services to medical improvements for clinics treating underserved Coloradans, all of the money raised by the tax is accounted for and targeted where it can do the most good for those most affected by smoking.
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Q: WHAT ABOUT E-CIGARETTES AND MARIJUANA? WHY NOT TAX JUNK FOOD AND ALCOHOL?
Here’s the thing: Colorado’s “Single Subject Rule” says that a bill can only focused on one topic. The Yes on 72 coalition chose to focus on the primary problem: smoking, which kills more people in Colorado every year than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.
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Q: WON’T THIS TAX INCREASE JUST CAUSE A RISE IN SMUGGLING AND ILLICIT CIGARETTE TRADE?
The tobacco industry has pushed scare tactics like this for decades, and numerous studies have called these predictions exaggerated. In fact, there has only been a single case of cigarette smuggling in Colorado since the tobacco tax was last raised in 2004. Cigarette tax increases are proven to work and that’s why tobacco companies fight them.
Meanwhile, Colorado is falling behind: we currently rank 38th in the nation for cigarette taxes. Passing Amendment 72 will allow us to fund smoking cessation and prevention programs at the level recommended by the CDC for the first time in decades.
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Q: WHY IS THIS BEING PUT IN THE CONSTITUTION?
To protect these funds for the programs voters intend, we need to put the cigarette tax in the Constitution where it’s safe from politics and lobbying from big tobacco. In fact, tobacco taxes have been in the Colorado Constitution since 2004, and have helped thousands of smokers to quit. Amendment 72 makes the existing (but outdated) tax more effective at deterring smoking by raising the rate. It will also provide funding to programs which help smokers quit and take care of their long term health needs. The best way to ensure those funds are protected is to put them somewhere they’re off limits to short-sighted political decisions.
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Sincerely,
The team at the Yes on 72 campaign
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by OnSight | Oct 2016 | Campaign, Tobacco Tax, video
Make no mistake: smoking is a deadly addiction that kills more Coloradans than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. For decades, tobacco companies have successfully lured kids into a lifelong addiction, even though one in three youth smokers will die prematurely because of it.
The Yes on 72 campaign is now on the air with two TV spots educating voters about the Yes on 72 campaign, and reminding voters that the opposition campaign is funded entirely by big tobacco in an effort to keep making profits at the expense of Colorado kids and the health of all Coloradans.
Raising taxes on cigarettes is a proven solution to stop kids from starting to smoke, reduce smoking among adults and to support those most harmed by smoking with their lifelong health issues.
Check out our new ads and help us spread the word!
by OnSight | Sep 2016 | Campaign, Tobacco Tax
Big tobacco is at it again, spending millions to push out a campaign of deceit.
The tobacco industry has purchased nearly $7.7 million of television and radio time for commercials in Colorado to divert attention from the purpose of Amendment 72, which is to save lives, reduce smoking and stop thousands of kids from getting hooked on cigarettes.
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Tobacco companies are hiding behind phony fears about our state constitution to avoid addressing the real reason why they are fighting Amendment 72, which is that raising the cost of cigarettes will stop thousands of kids and adults from smoking and hurt their profits.
Amendment 72 is widely supported by Colorado voters because they know cigarettes kill. Over 100 organizations and health care leaders endorse the initiative, including the Children’s Hospital of Colorado, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.
Remember who is behind these ads – the same industry that used to claim that cigarettes were harmless.
CONTRIBUTE TO HELP US SPREAD THE WORD TODAY
by OnSight | Aug 2016 | Campaign, Tobacco Tax
We’re on the ballot!
The Colorado Secretary of State has approved our petitions for the November ballot. Now the hard work begins.
Colorado voters will be asked this November to increase the cigarette tax to reduce smoking, save lives and provide funding for medical research and health care services for kids, veterans, and those most affected by smoking. The Colorado Secretary of State Office today approved the measure after determining that enough voter signatures were submitted.
We need to stay strong in our resolve if we’re going to win this campaign. While we haven’t seen any organized opposition from the tobacco industry yet, we expect they will show up with a vocal (and well funded) campaign any day now.
Cigarettes kill more than 5,000 Coloradans every year, and the tobacco industry will stop at nothing to target kids for lifelong addiction. Big Tobacco, in fighting a similar tax increase in California, has already spent almost $17 million. We should expect to see the same here.
Last year cigarette sales increased in Colorado for the first time in over a decade. Increasing the cigarette tax is a proven way to fight this deadly problem and keep more kids from starting to smoke.
