Sky Lakes Supports Measure 108
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Sky Lakes Medical Center supports Oregon Ballot Measure 108, the campaign to reduce the poisoning of our kids by Big Tobacco through youth vaping and smoking. Simply put, passing the measure will save lives.
Ballot Measure 108 promotes a healthier future for all Oregonians by reducing and preventing tobacco use in Oregon by imposing a tax on vaping products and electronic cigarettes.
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in Oregon. Nearly 8,000 Oregonians die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, but that doesn’t stop Big Tobacco from targeting kids with candy-flavored vaping products.
In fact, one out of four high schoolers in Oregon report vaping, and research shows young people who vape are three times more likely to start smoking.
Oregonians pay almost $1.5 billion annually in smoking-related health care costs while Big Tobacco profits. But Oregon doesn’t tax vapes a single penny to cover the costs. Evidence shows that when states tax vaping and tobacco products, more people quit and fewer are likely to start.
If passed, the measure would generate an estimated $115 million in new funding through July 2021 alone. Measure 108 was written by a bi-partisan committee and its language ensures that all funds raised by the tax will go to tobacco prevention and cessation programs, and to the Oregon Health Plan. The money can never be used for anything else.
Increasing the cigarette tax by $2 a pack will help prevent more than 19,000 Oregon youth from becoming smokers, and will provide additional health care funding for more than 1 million people covered by the Oregon Health Plan, which could grow by nearly a third because of the pandemic.
Measure 108 will help reduce and prevent youth smoking, saves lives, and help fund health care and education efforts. While Oregon battles COVID-19, there has never been a more important time to take action to reduce smoking and vaping.
