I was disappointed to read your editorial last Monday, claiming that a raise in the tobacco tax was unfair. I don’t know how anyone could come to that conclusion when they read that tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Minnesota. It causes heart disease, stroke, emphysema and is linked to cancers like lung, pancreas, liver, bladder, and many more.

My father was a three-pack-a-day smoker and had a massive stroke at the age of 57! My mother lost her two-year battle with bladder cancer some 40 years after she quit smoking — yet the doctors said that’s probably what caused it!

I applaud Sen. Carla Nelson and Rep. Mike Benson (both from Rochester) for moving Minnesota toward better health, and I urge Albert Lea lawmakers to do the same.

 

Judy Kropp

volunteer

American Cancer Society

Albert Lea