Advocates from around the state were with Tobacco Free Indiana at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday.
They say tobacco use among adults remains higher in Indiana than most other states.
Supporters are advocating for a $2 per pack increase in the state’s cigarette tax, which could help 50,000 adults quit smoking and generate more than $371 million for the state’s health initiatives.
They also discussed increasing state funding for tobacco prevention to $15 million.
11 comments
Sin taxes are abhorrent. Use the tax code fairly and impartially to generate revenue, not to control behavior. If they want to control behavior, pass a law and own it. Politicians need to stop hiding behind the tax code.
Signed,
A Nonsmoker
People are going to smoke if they want to no matter what anyone does to prevent it 🙂
This is luidcris! Smokers are addicted to cigarettes and all this will do is put more strain on their finances…just so the state can make more money! Dont think for a second that lawmakers actually care about people quitting. Its all about money!
Stop with the hike on cigarette taxes. They’re already $9.00 a pack for name brand.I know atleast 20 people that smoked there hole life and still alive or died at very old age.What needs to be brought to attention is the fsc that is being put in the tobacco from Barack Obama. That stuff needs to quit being added to tobacco products, because it don’t help and for God’s sake it’s a chemical that a trader added to our tobacco. That’s my 2 cents.
This is an attack against my freedoms…why can’t you leave us smokers alone and let us enjoy smoking smoking in the privacy of our homes…you have already taken away our rights to smoke in public and I’m okay with that but please leave us alone and let us enjoy our freedom to smoke or not amoke
Joe, stay growing your own tobacco and make cigarettes without the additives or chemicals.
Raising prices again,and again is NOT going to make Indiana smoke free. Some people eat less so they can afford the continued price increases every week. This will just cause other health problems. To some people this is their Valium or Xanax when stressed. The gouging prices of food, gas and cigarettes is just greed. These people can afford anything they want, but the average person who is spinning their wheels financially to get one step ahead are going in reverse. Tax the millionaires and billionaires more and leave the every day go to work people and seniors lower prices and less tax so we can start to go forward. Stop picking on smokers. We have already lost most all of our smoker freedoms.
it’s my right smoke a cigarette, it’s my right if I don’t please don’t add more taxes to me I pay enough.the taxation was introduced during the 1st war to fund it and was what it was meant for now law makers are using taxes to get rich off of the middle class and seniors to have not only control on them but at the same time keep us proverty and broke to choose between food, cigarettes bills or gas so they can whatever law they want to while the rich man can watch the news and the poor man has to hear about it so please give us our freedoms back and our rights as I recall this does violate our constitution and the bill of rights which every police officer, and politician took an oath to uphold when they got sworn in to office or on the force
I think we smokers need to file discrimination lawsuits! They’re discriminating against us because we want to smoke! Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It doesn’t say if you can afford it! What happened to the revenue from the lottery in indiana? That was supposed to bring in soooo much money! Where did it go?
Raising prices for cigarettes is not the answer. If I wanted to quit I would. It is my choice to do so not yours Stop shoving your ideas down someone else’s throat just because you don’t like it ya bully practice what is preached to our children bullying is wrong. I smoke you trying to bully me to stop is wrong.
If you’re like me smoking is a stress relief so therefore I sure go to my cigarettes now they go up $2 a pack yeah I might end up quitting but who’s to say I don’t go to something else I mean that’s what’s going to happen I mean it’s going to be terrible for everybody except for the state which just wants that money