The Indiana General Assembly will once again consider raising the state’s legal age to buy tobacco and vaping products when it meets next year.
Similar measures were brought to lawmakers in the last session, but none of them passed.
This year there’s one big difference. Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, who in the past has blocked efforts to increase the state’s smoking age from 18 to 21, is supporting it this time around.
“We’ve gotten strong indications of support this year,” said Kevin Brinegar, CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “We’ll see if it’s in the governor’s agenda when it’s rolled out.”
The Chamber and a statewide coalition of 139 health, business, youth and community groups, called Raise It for Health, sought to reduce smoking rates through a variety of measures last year. But Bosma balked, saying people could serve in the military, vote and buy a gun at the age of 18.
Now, the military is taking steps to go smoke free, most notably the Army, for the same reasons many in Indiana are trying to reduce smoking, Brinegar said. Smoking is costing Indiana businesses more than $6 billion a year in lost productivity and increased health care costs.
The vaping epidemic also is forcing some to reconsider their positions.
Indiana leads the nation when it comes to deaths related to vaping, federal health officials have said. Four of the 42 deaths from severe respiratory illness after vaping have been in Indiana.
Lawmakers also will consider raising the state’s cigarette tax $2 a pack.
“Smokers are price-sensitive,” Brinegar said, adding any increase must be high enough so tobacco companies don’t offset the cost with rebates or coupons.
Brinegar acknowledged that a tax increase has a better chance of passing in the longer 2021 session, when the legislature will have to consider another budget. But he said the alliance is going to keep talking about it and keep the issue in front of legislators this year.
It’s long past time for Indiana to adopt these measures and take the strong steps that are necessary to reduce the state’s smoking rates and improve its health ranking. Indiana ranks 41st among states in overall health, according to the American Cancer Society. And smoking is a primary factor in that ranking.
A recent survey of 600 Indiana voters by Bellwether Research found 70 percent of Hoosiers favor a $2 per pack cigarette tax hike, if a portion of the money is spent on tobacco prevention programs.
Public support for a tax hike is strong; a coalition of Indiana businesses supports the measure; even the military is taking steps to curb smoking among its ranks. The only thing that remains is to get the legislature to vote for the measures, which is long overdue.
