Anti-smoking programs are worth funding

As the legislature crafts the FY2012 budget, many useful programs could go up in smoke. Among those “on-the-bubble” are JEL and Quitline. The first discourages young people from starting to smoke and the second helps grown-ups quit. The two programs account for less than 0.01 percent of the state's $6 billion budget.

Why are both important? The ravages of tobacco cost the state a billion bucks annually. Some 6,300 Iowans will die of cancer this year. Some 60,000 Iowa teenagers will have their lives curtailed by the habits they picked up as kids. You see, the tobacco industry knows that almost all its customers start using as teenagers. The American Cancer Society estimates that 80 percent of adult smokers started as teens.

Furthermore, today's 55-year-old with cancer was once a 15-year-old in a convenience store, staring at the cigarette ads plastered on walls and windows and the dozens of products behind the cash register. We need to counteract those insidious messages with others.

JEL and Quitline work if we invest in them. Tell your legislators now that tobacco abstinence is a cause worth fighting for and worth paying for.

Tim and Amy Boyle

Cedar Rapids