Don’t be a Pain in the Butt

Jack Russell

​ Chief Operating Officer of OneZone

I am sure the title of this article made you think, “What is this guy talking about?” The answer: Cigarettes. Before I give you my thoughts, let’s look at the facts. 
• Indiana ranks 41st in overall health. We rank 44th in smoking. 
• 1 in 5 Hoosiers is a smoker. 
• Indiana ranks 48th out of 50 in public health funding. 
Given these facts, there’s little denying Indiana has a smoking problem. So why is it that there is a lack of support around increasing the cigarette tax down at the Statehouse? The answer… It’s a tax! 

I can agree with the fact that it is a tax, but I would consider it more of a user fee. If a cigarette tax would be put into place tomorrow I, and other nonsmokers, would not be affected due to the fact we don’t smoke.
 
So why would a chamber bring up smoking as an issue for them to watch? Just look at the Indiana Chamber’s report that shows smoking causes $2.8 billion in productivity losses in our state and nearly $3.3 billion in annual health care costs. Hard to put a “patch” on $6.2 billion. I am not alone in thinking that an increase is a good idea. According to poll by the Indiana Chamber, 62% of those surveyed across the state supported a $2.00 tax increase.
 
As this session continues, we hope to see the support for groups like Raise it for Health continue to grow. We also hope this pack size of support today grows to a carton size of support soon from legislators, because let’s face it … Smoking is a pain in the butt for everyone.