Path to health: Ball Memorial Hosiptal Cancer Center cardiovascular oncology rehab specialist Lindesy Hanna checks the blood pressure of lung cancer patient Jack Vice as he works out at the center. KURT HOSTETLER / THE STAR PRESS
By NASEEM SOWTI, Star Press
nsowti@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- Local economist Patrick Barkey asked a simple question for a research project: what would the Indiana economy look like if tobacco did not exist?
"Most public health studies ask about costs associated with tobacco use," said Barkey, the director of economic and policy studies at Ball State University. "We wanted to find out whether tobacco is the driver of economy."
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