Colorado voters have an exceptional opportunity in November to improve the state’s health and economy by approving Amendment 72 to increase the state tobacco tax by $1.75 per pack. This critical action will prevent children from smoking, prompt smokers to quit and generate much-needed revenue for worthy causes including cancer research and veterans’ services. In these hyperpartisan times, it’s refreshing to have an option voters of all persuasions can support.

The need for this initiative is clear. Tobacco is the No. 1 preventable cause of death in Colorado, killing 5,100 of the state’s residents each year and sickening many more. The vast majority of these smokers started as children. While Colorado has made progress in reducing smoking, 15.7 percent of adults and 8.6 percent of high school students still smoke. Some 2,400 young Coloradoans become daily smokers each year, and over 91,000 Colorado children alive today will die prematurely from smoking without strong action to prevent it.

By approving Amendment 72, voters will protect children and adults alike. The nation’s top public health authorities – including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Surgeon General and the National Academy of Medicine – have found that increasing tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking. Even tobacco companies admit this in their own documents.

Nationally, every 10 percent jump in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by 6.5 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent. The higher the tax, the more lives saved. A $1.75 hike in Colorado’s tobacco tax will prevent 34,000 children from becoming smokers, spur more than 37,000 current smokers to quit and save 20,000 Colorado residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths.

In addition to preventing children from ever using tobacco, cigarette tax increases prompt smokers to quit. For example, the Wisconsin Quit Line received a record-breaking 20,000 calls in the first two months after a $1.00 per pack increase (it typically receives 9,000 calls per year). Likewise, in Texas and Iowa, when they each increased their cigarette taxes by $1.00, the number of calls to the state quit lines was much higher compared to the prior year.

Amendment 72 is also a financial win for Colorado. The state spends nearly $1.9 billion a year on health care costs directly caused by smoking, including $386 million spent by the state Medicaid program. A $1.75 tobacco tax increase will save $1.4 billion in future health care costs. According to state officials, this initiative will also generate about $315 million in its first year to support important health-related causes, including proven tobacco prevention and cessation programs, cancer research and veterans’ services.

With the case so clear in favor of significant tobacco tax increases, who could possibly be opposed? Surprise, surprise. The tobacco companies oppose Amendment 72 because they know the result will be fewer customers for their deadly and addictive products. That’s why they’re spending millions of dollars to deceive voters and defeat Amendment 72. It’s an investment in preserving the pipeline of children the industry needs to survive.

Colorado voters should approve Amendment 72 for the same reasons the tobacco companies oppose it – because it will prevent children from smoking and encourage smokers to quit. That may be a bad outcome for tobacco industry profits, but it’s a great outcome for Colorado’s health.