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Dear Editor:
Aug. 1 is World Lung Cancer Day, a time to raise awareness about this serious disease. Lung cancer can affect anyone with lungs, but individuals with a history of tobacco use/exposure are at significantly higher risk. The American Lung Association reports that smoking is directly responsible for about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths.
Indiana, unfortunately, has one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the Midwest, at 99¢ since 1997. According to the American Cancer Society, raising Indiana’s cigarette tax could prevent 16,800 premature deaths among Hoosiers and raise funding for prevention and cessation education programs across the state.
This World Lung Cancer Day, let’s come together to advocate for a healthier Indiana. Write or call your legislators, encouraging them to support a $2 increase in the cigarette tax during the 2025 legislative session.
If you would like to join in the local cause, you can contact Breathe Easy Hamilton County for more information. Just go to BreatheEasyHamiltonCounty.com/contact-3.
Stacy Collins
Executive Director
Breathe Easy Hamilton County
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Doesn’t anyone see how ridiculous our government is when it comes to this bs? They get everyone pointing fingers at each other but not themselves. They got folks hooked when they put them in solders fashions. They don’t want to make them illegal, just raise taxes, so they win along with big charms. Padding pockets along the way.