A principal recommendation of the recent Governor’s Public Health Commission report is the urgent need to increase state funding of public health. It’s an essential component of their plan to improve Indiana’s health.
In fact, it recommends that funding increase from the present $55 per person to the national average of $91. That’s not enough, but it’s a good start.
Historically, the Indiana legislature has placed public health funding at a very low priority; according to the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings of the states, Indiana is 45th lowest (alternatively reported as 48th by some sources). It’s just an unfortunate Hoosier tradition.
The report demonstrates that Indiana’s lack of public health funding is reflected in our miserable state of health; Indiana persistently ranks in the bottom 10 states on key health measures resulting in unacceptable losses – both human and economic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana ranks 40th lowest in life expectancy. I could go on.
It’s time, once again, to consider increasing the cigarette tax, not only to discourage smoking but also to use the new tax revenue to fund the numerous proposals recommended by the Commission. It’s an obvious source of funding.
How many times over the past 25 years have I called for increasing the cigarette tax, and how many times has the legislature failed to act? The influence of the tobacco industry on Indiana legislators runs dark and deep, and many times is present indirectly through other entities acting on its behalf.
One of the first things I learned in politics is to never expect a politician to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. It’s time during this upcoming budget session for the General Assembly to muster the political courage to do the right thing and increase the cigarette tax.
It’s just that simple.
Indiana’s tax is $0.995 per pack, with the last increase in 2007. The national average is $1.91. And look at our surrounding states: Michigan’s cigarette tax is $2 per pack; Ohio is $1.60; Illinois, $2.98; Wisconsin, $2.52; and even the tobacco state of Kentucky is $1.10 per pack. These states have understood that increasing tobacco taxes discourages the amount of smoking, increases cessation rates, discourages youth initiation, and provides increased tax revenue.
Indiana has some catching up to do. Despite decreased smoking rates resulting from increased taxes, economic studies have never demonstrated a point of diminishing tax revenues even in the states with the highest cigarette taxes – New York and Connecticut are $4.35 per pack.
It is well known from multiple authoritative sources that increasing the cigarette tax is probably the most effective single strategy for reducing smoking rates. It’s particularly effective when combined with a comprehensive, multifaceted state smoking prevention and cessation program, which has also languished in Indiana from inadequate funding. According to the American Lung Association, every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces consumption by about 4 percent among adults and about 7 percent among youth.
The CDC ranks Indiana 10th highest in adult smoking (19.2 percent) among the states. Reducing that rate is key to improving the health of Indiana. A $1.50 per pack increase would raise $262 million in tax revenue: $240 million could be utilized to fund the Commission’s recommendations and $22 million to restore Indiana’s once vibrant tobacco prevention and cessation program.
Richard D. Feldman, M.D. is an Indianapolis family physician and former Indiana State Health Commissioner who served in the administration of Governor Frank O’Bannon.
Our state has maintained such a high surplus from annual tax revenue that it has given out tax rebate checks. Next year, in spite of additional tax cuts, we will still end up with a surplus. Smokers are a frequent go-to for additional tax revenue in Indiana, not because the state needs the money but because smokers should be punished for smoking in the first place. I remember the first cigarette tax passed increase in Indiana. I also remember the third cigarette tax increase was accompanied with the words, “this will be the last time.” That was 3 or 4 increases ago. You want to save on healthcare funding in Indiana, the state needs to get out of it and so too, the scamming insurance companies.