OPINION: Daniels' plan to finance health insurance with higher cigarette tax

By Julie Creek, The Journal Gazette

It's practically impossible to find anybody who would argue that the burgeoning ranks of Hoosiers without health insurance - roughly 800,000 strong - isn't a serious social and economic problem.

It's probably harder to find anybody in a public policymaking position who doesn't support doing whatever it takes to discourage smoking - at least in theory.

So Gov. Mitch Daniels collected kudos all around last week when he introduced a plan to raise Indiana's cigarette tax and plow the new revenue into a complex plan to curb smoking, increase childhood immunization and offer low-cost health insurance to as many as 200,000 working poor Hoosiers.

But the battle has just begun.