State's poor health may spur tighter smoking limits

A proposal co-authored by the former and current chairmen of the House Public Health Committee includes sweeping rules that end the anti-smoking exemption for casinos, bar cigarette sales at stores with pharmacies, tax electronic cigarettes, and eliminate a “smokers’ bill of rights” that prohibits employers who are hiring from discriminating against tobacco users.

“If Indiana’s health rankings were any better, I might not feel a sense of urgency about this,” said Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, the current chairman of the House Public Health Committee.

Clere predicts the bill will be controversial but said he set out to provoke debate.

A national report, "America's Health Rankings," put Indiana in the bottom 10 states last year. It noted that 1 million Hoosiers – more than one in five – smoke.

“There’s a need for a cultural shift on smoking in Indiana,” said Clere. “We need to start that conversation.”

Casinos and retail businesses are mobilizing against his legislation, arguing the state should butt out of their customers’ personal decisions.

John Elliott, a spokesman for Kroger grocery stores in Indiana, said the proposal could end cigarette sales at Kroger stores that also house pharmacies. But, he noted, it doesn’t go after alcohol or high-fat and sugary foods, which also contribute to poor health rankings.

“We think our customers can make their own decisions about what they consume,” Elliott said.

Mike Smith, head of the Casino Association of Indiana, said he was surprised by the bill. He recalled a contentious debate three years ago, when the Legislature narrowly passed the first-ever statewide smoking ban, which covers most workplaces but exempted his industry.

“When it was finally put to rest, I thought it would be another 10 years before it would be taken up again,” Smith said.

Clere's bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Charlie Brown, a Gary Democrat who spent years unsuccessfully pushing for the current smoking ban when he chaired the House Public Health Committee.

Brown's argument at the time: The state spends more than $1 billion per year on healthcare costs associated with smoking, and almost $500 million on Medicaid funds for patients who suffer from smoking-related illness.

Money is also factor in arguments against the legislation.

Indiana's casinos contend that allowing patrons to light up while gambling gives them a competitive edge over casinos in neighboring states that prohibit smoking.

They’re convinced they need the advantage. Gaming revenues in Indiana are dropping as Illinois and Ohio move aggressively into legalized gambling. Casino taxes generated nearly $100 million less in state and local revenue last year than the year before.

“We’re already on the decline, this would be a real tough thing for us,” said Smith.

The bill stops short of calling for a $1 per pack tax increase favored by American Cancer Society advocates in Indiana. Its authors think that's a no-go given the anti-tax sentiments of Republicans who control the Statehouse.

But they do call for expanding the current tax on tobacco products to include the battery-powered devices known as e-cigarettes. They also propose banning the use of e-cigarettes in areas where the state’s current smoking ban is now enforced.

A provision that rolls back the 1991 “smokers bill of rights," which bans discrimination against smokers in hiring, has support from the influential Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

The pro-business chamber argues that Indiana’s high smoking rate costs employers. It has cited a report from Ball State University’s Global Health Institute, which says Indiana employers lose $2.6 billion in productivity each year because of the state's smoking habit.

The number of adults in Indiana who smoke has decreased significantly since the statewide smoking ban went into effect. Since 2011, the smoking rate has dropped from 25 percent of the population to 21 percent.

Still, Indiana remains among the highest in the nation in terms of smoking, according to health officials.