Letter: Indiana lawmakers, focus on smoking cessation

First, do no harm. This phrase summarizes the Hippocratic oath that doctors like me take. We would be wise to apply this caregiving standard to health policy, especially when it comes to the harms of tobacco.

The recent federal Tobacco 21 law was an important step forward to protect kids from a lifetime of addiction. Much credit should be given to Sen. Todd Young for his leadership on the issue at the federal level. Now state lawmakers have an opportunity to build upon the federal framework.

I spent my career working to keep kids healthy, first as a pediatrician and later as a clinical research physician at Eli Lilly. That is why I am troubled to see an old threat reemerge in recent years. As more kids become addicted to tobacco—a challenge of epidemic proportions according to the U.S. surgeon general—we must return to policies that have proven effective over the years.

Raising the age to 21 must be complemented by an increase in the state’s tobacco tax, and more resources must be directed to underfunded tobacco prevention programs. Indiana has one of the nation’s lowest cigarette tax rates and its prevention programs have sustained many years of cuts, resulting in one of the nation’s highest smoking rates. These policies, which are proven to reduce tobacco use, especially among kids, must be top priorities for lawmakers when they write the next state budget in 2021.

This session, lawmakers are rightly focused on ensuring the new Tobacco 21 law can be actively enforced. The focus must remain on improving enforcement, by enacting suspension and revocation penalties for retailers who continue to sell to kids. And for the tens of thousands of newly addicted Hoosier kids? Their interests would be best served if the state invested more in prevention and cessation programs rather than harming them with expensive tickets for using or possessing tobacco. One thing we’ve learned in medicine over the years is that harsh penalties are rarely the best antidote to addiction.

In dealing with this Hoosier youth tobacco crisis, we need to make sure the law and its enforcement does no harm to addicted kids.

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Dr. Douglas K. Kelsey
Zionsville