Tobacco tax targeted

At issue: Initiative 149, an item on the Montana voting ballot that, if passed, would raise the state tax imposed on the sale of tobacco products.

“We found out that if this initiative were to pass, in Ravalli County alone 108 youth would be saved from a smoking-related death,” says Florence High School Key Club member Maureen Leonard.

For their project, the teens set up shop in front of an area grocery store, which ensured a steady flow of people. In addition to distributing information, they created a display to hammer home an anti-smoking message.

“We collected T-shirts from Goodwill stores and other sources and hung them on clotheslines to symbolically represent the lives of those 108 children. It was really something to see.”

Montana voters approved Initiative 149 by a 65 percent margin on the November ballot. That increased the tax imposed on a pack of cigarettes by $1, a can of snuff by 50 cents, and other tobacco products by 25 percent.