State legislators are looking at increasing the price of cigarettes and vapor products and consumable material (electronic cigarettes and products similar).

They must be educated on why the tax must be $2 a pack to drive down adult and youth tobacco use in Indiana.

The Indiana Raise It For Health Coalition — made up of state and community partners representing health, faith and business sectors — is working with grassroots coalitions throughout the state to urge them to reach out to their senators to educate them on why a $2 increase is imperative to reduce public health diseases caused by tobacco and nicotine products.

Cigarette taxes have not been raised in Indiana in 14 years. This is unacceptable, especially in the time of COVID where it’s become apparent that public health is underfunded and this would make a big difference in increasing that funding.

Our current tax is 99.5 cents, leaving us at 39th in the country. The average cigarette tax nationally is $1.88.

Currently, the House put the tax in its budget at a disgraceful 50-cent increase.

Research shows that this will not do anything to help adults/youth quit smoking.

A $2 increase would move us up to 13th in the country and would do so much to help people quit.

Please contact Sen. Mike Gaskill, your senator in Pendleton and Lapel, at 317-232-9400 or at [email protected] and ask him to support a $2 increase in the cigarette tax in the Senate budget.

Knight-Wilkerson of Lapel is executive director of Intersect Inc., an organization that works to promote healthy lifestyle choices by providing educational resources to the people of Madison County.