In various state health-ranking reports, Indiana is consistently among the unhealthiest states on most any measure including chronic disease, overall health, and life expectancy. According to the American Lung Association, our state’s maternal smoking rate is well above the national average and our adult smoking rank is eighth highest nationally. One in five Hoosiers, 11,000 annually, die as a result of smoking. Tobacco plays a large role in our miserable state of health.
Historically, public health funding has been a low priority for the Indiana General Assembly. But recently, I have been encouraged by its support of public health. Since 2021, the legislature has allocated an additional $275 million to address Indiana’s most pressing public-health challenges. Let’s add to this accomplishment by increasing the cigarette tax.
The legislature has repeatedly failed to increase the cigarette tax; the last increase occurred in 2007. The political influence of the tobacco industry runs dark and deep, and legislators need to push Big Tobacco aside. In fact, it would be a political win. A 2018 survey conducted by Bellwether Research found that nearly two-thirds of Indiana voters favored a $2 cigarette-tax increase if just part of the revenue went to tobacco-prevention programs…