Opioids and tobacco have killed 14,000 people in Indiana in 2017

By the Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Opioids and tobacco took the lives of 14,200 residents of Indiana last year, costing the state $ 12.6 billion in health care, lost productivity and other economic damage, according to two new reports.

Studies published last week by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation recommend that Indiana raise the state's cigarette tax by $ 2 a pack and bring the legal age of smoking to 21 years old. The Indianapolis-based foundation, which provides grants to improve the well-being of Hoosiers through education and anti-smoking and opioid addiction efforts, also recommends in the reports that access to needle exchanges and safe opioid disposal sites.

The findings came about a month after Jim McClelland, the state's drug czar, said the Indiana opioid epidemic was showing clear signs. McClelland said that emergency room visits for drug overdose had decreased and that doctors were writing fewer prescriptions for opioid analgesics.

Foundation President Claire Fiddian-Green said significant steps had been taken to fight both the opioid epidemic and smoking in Indiana, but warned that the new reports show that "we still have a lot of work to do unfinished".

"These two addiction issues are the root causes of the poor health outcomes and high costs of health care in Indiana," she said.

Earlier this year, Republican leaders of Indiana House had previously blocked a bill proposing raising the legal age for the purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old. The proposals to increase $ 1 a pack of the current 99 cents tax on Indiana cigarettes were authorized by Parliament. year and in 2016, but failed to obtain Senate approval.

No action was taken on this in the 2018 Legislative Session.

The reports acknowledge that Indiana has seen a sharp drop since 2011 in fatal overdoses involving prescription opioids, but notes that synthetic fentanyl has increased rapidly.

According to one of the reports, smoking and secondhand smoke cause 12,500 deaths each year in Indiana.

Both studies found that businesses lost about $ 2.8 billion a year in productivity as a result of smoking, while Indiana families had to add $ 1,125 per household in additional state and government taxes. to cover health costs related to tobacco use.

Kevin Brinegar, President and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said that Indiana needed to take action to combat opioid and tobacco epidemics as they threaten physical health of our State, the quality of life of all Hoosiers and our shared economic prosperity. "

"The adoption of proven policies to deal with these two crises would preserve thousands of lives, save taxpayer dollars and position our state as a more attractive place for business." and employees. "