INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
Health advocates and some lawmakers hope that raising Indiana’s cigarette
tax by $1.50 per pack will help tamp down the state’s smoking rate, which is
among the highest in the nation.
Public health
officials say the increase is a proactive approach toward reducing the
smoking rate - more than 20 percent of Indiana adults smoke - and would
serve as a deterrent for young people to even begin. The proposal also comes
at a convenient time: Republican statehouse leaders are pushing an
infrastructure funding proposal that would take money currently devoted to
general programs, including health care spending.
In Indiana, a
reliably red state where public discussion often focuses on tax cuts not
increases, the likelihood of it getting approved is far from certain. GOP
leaders are already pushing a 10-cent increase to the state’s 18-cents per
gallon gasoline tax, as well as additional vehicle registration fees. Some
lawmakers in the Senate have signaled the cigarette tax increase proposed in
the House bill may be a bridge too far.
“It’s not popular
over here, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” said GOP Senate leader
David Long. “Nobody likes taxes. Even sin taxes.”
The measure’s
author, Republican Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer, said at a committee hearing
Wednesday that she doesn’t want it to be thought of as a tax bill, but a
“Healthy Indiana bill.” Still, GOP leaders who control the Statehouse have
acknowledged that the additional money brought in by more than doubling the
state’s current $1 a pack tax could supplement dollars they want to divert
toward fixing roads and bridges.
States across the
nation have increasingly turned to tobacco taxes to fill holes in their
budgets, often putting the money toward education or health care. Indiana
currently has the 37th lowest cigarette tax in the U.S., according to The
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
As written, the
cigarette tax bill would send just over half of an estimated $406.8 million
to the general fund in fiscal year 2018, while directing roughly 27 percent
to Medicaid and other small amounts to mental health and pension relief,
among other things.
But tax hike aside,
other aspects would go a long way toward improving the state’s health,
advocates say.
The measure would
also raise the smoking age to 21, put more money toward tobacco cessation
and prevention programs that have historically received less money than the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, and repeal the
so-called “Smoker’s Bill of Rights,” a set of employment protections.
Passing it would
help address Indiana’s “miserable and embarrassing state of health,” said
former health commissioner Richard Feldman. “It’s time to right the ship and
restore the state’s commitment.”
In 1991, the year
the state passed the Smoker’s Bill of Rights, Indiana’s smoking rate was the
26th worst among states. Since then, it’s gotten worse and now consistently
ranks in the bottom ten or 11 states. Public health officials estimate that
between 20 and 25 percent of the adult population smokes cigarettes and
roughly 11,000 Indiana residents die from smoking-related illnesses each
year.
The House Public
Health Committee passed the measure unanimously, sending it to the House
Ways and Means Committee for consideration. They also approved an amendment
recommending revenue be dedicated toward “health-related matters.”
At least two other
measures this session would increase the cigarette tax but have not gotten
hearings.
Research shows that
increasing the excise tax and price of tobacco products is the most
effective tool to reduce use, according to a 2017 National Cancer Institute
and World Health Organization report. It says that price increases lead some
users to quit and prevent potential users from starting.
Information
gathered by The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids shows that of 25 states that
increased their cigarette tax by more than 50 cents between 2006 and 2015,
all increased their revenue and all but one state saw a decrease in the
number of packs sold in their states in the 12 months following the
increase. Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency estimates that increasing
the tax by $1.50 would cause the number of packs sold to decrease by 14
percent.
Pro-business
organizations, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, support
Kirchhofer’s measure and its potential for making the state more attractive
to businesses. Improving Indiana’s health could draw in new industries, in
addition to reducing smoking-related health care costs for employers already
in the state, they say.
Critics, meanwhile,
contend that the tax hike would hurt convenience stores and other retailers,
citing a competitive advantage over some neighboring states that could be
lost.
To that argument,
Democratic Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary responded: “We just need to talk about
the health aspect (for) Indiana, rather than the lost revenue.”