Tobacco is a Master at Clouding Issues

Source from:  October 26, 2007 By LANCE MASTERSON  11/02/2007

Big Tobacco is a master at clouding issues. Its strategy is simple. Pour enough money into Oregon, throw enough mud on the wall, and hope sooner or later an issue rallies the very voters who are looking for an excuse not to do what's right. At the very least, confuse voters who are undecided. It's true Measure 50 will require a constitutional amendment. It's true nobody really knows the impact of this. And it's true our legislators lacked the backbone to do what was right in the first place, thus forcing their constituents - the very people who elected them to make the hard decisions - to decide the measure's fate. In doing so, our elected officials let the real concern here, the health of Oregonians, take a back seat to an emotional and twisted argument. Let's suppose the worst of Big Tobacco's argument comes true and the constitution is amended. Is that still somehow of greater importance than providing more adults and children with medical insurance? Is it more important than providing rural communities with greater health care options? Is it more important than funding anti-tobacco education? As for the fairness of requiring tobacco users to pay for expanded services. Why not lay the cost of these programs squarely on the back of smokers? It's not as if a direct correlation between smoking and poor health doesn't exist. It's also true non-smokers have been paying for smokers' health care for years. And despite Big Tobacco's smokescreen, their drug of choice remains the number one cause of preventable deaths in this country. Let's face it. Big Tobacco's concern is Big Tobacco's profit. Raise cigarette taxes significantly and smokers find the strength to quit the habit. And that's what really has Big Tobacco shaking. Why else would they spend so much money? Vote yes on Measure 50. Enditem