The Reader’s Viewpoint

 I- 185 will save lives

As a retired ICU physician, I know the end-stage consequences of tobacco use: heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, dementia, COPD, emphysema, and cancers – not just lung cancer, but also throat, stomach, pancreatic, colon, liver, kidney, and bladder cancers, to name a few. It was difficult to repeatedly see these horrible diseases, and their devastating consequences on patients and their families.

Initiative 185 will place higher taxes on tobacco and vaping products. Hopefully, this will discourage their use. In addition, the revenue generated will be directed to multiple health services including tobacco use prevention and cessation programs, expanded services to veterans such as suicide prevention and nursing home care, need-based prescription medication assistance, long-term care allowing seniors and the disabled to remain in their homes, and prevention of cuts to the current Medicaid program. All of the above will save lives and improve the quality of life for Montanans.

I urge you to vote YES on I-185.

Dr. Kris Spanjian of Molt

Rosendale avoiding voters

“It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you sit on—one thing we can all agree is important is that our elected officials should work for US. We want representatives who will travel the state, listen to us, and take our concerns with them back to Washington. Unfortunately, Matt Rosendale hasn’t shown me that he can do that.

I’m a law-abiding gun owner, a hunter, and a concealed-carry permit holder. And when Rosendale first announced his run for Senate, I reached out to him to see where he stood on our Second Amendment rights. Rosendale’s website promised that he would answer my questions—but after weeks and then months of waiting, I never heard back from him.

If someone wants me to vote for them, the least they can do is respond to my concerns as a Montanan and a gun owner. But Rosendale’s lack of response suggested to me that maybe he is too occupied with fundraising in D.C. and schmoozing with donors to talk to Montanans and answer their questions. He’s barely even had any public events since the primary.

In fact, Rosendale seems so opposed to answering Montanans’ questions that he bailed on the first debate of the campaign, even after he pledged to be there! If Rosendale has good ideas for Montana, then why is he afraid to talk about them?

We deserve better than someone who won’t answer our questions or meet with Montanans face-to-face.”

We all should be careful of who we vote for.

Mike Rogers of Worden