September Letter to the Editor: Raising the Tobacco Tax

Dear Editor:

Lawmakers will soon get down to the business of addressing a $1 billion shortfall in the state’s Medicaid budget. Tackling a deficit like this should involve both cutting costs and finding additional sources of revenue.

One no-brainer solution to this problem is to raise the tax on cigarettes by $2 per pack. The immediate return will be $358 million in additional revenue. A longer-term benefit will be millions of dollars in reduced Medicaid spending for tobacco-related health care costs as fewer people smoke.

It’s been 17 years since the Indiana legislature raised the tax on cigarettes. Now is the time to implement this strategy to address pressing needs in our state.

Thank you,

Nicole Otis

Lake County Tobacco-free Coalition