Letter: Help make North Dakota the healthiest state in the country

The North Dakota Division of Well being and Human Companies has a objective of constructing North Dakota the healthiest state within the nation, however creating new venues for individuals to smoke is an enormous step backward.

This week the legislature handed HB 1229 which undermines our smoke-free legal guidelines. Variations of this invoice have been tried and defeated a number of instances earlier than. This yr it solely handed the Senate by two votes. That isn’t robust assist, particularly when you think about that in 2012 each county within the state voted in favor of our smoke-free regulation, which advances public well being by defending extra employees, residents and guests from secondhand smoke publicity in public locations and locations of employment.

As a most cancers survivor and advocate for the American Most cancers Society Most cancers Motion Community I really feel it’s crucial to talk out in opposition to this invoice and ask Governor Burgum to veto it.

The individuals of North Dakota have already spoken on this problem they usually need everybody to have the suitable to breathe clear air. We all know greater than 30% of all most cancers deaths in our state are attributable to smoking. Governor Burgum has the facility to assist the desire of the individuals and make North Dakota the healthiest state within the nation. We’d like him to veto HB 1229.