Paying it forward, one kidney at a timeWhen Rick Ruzzamenti of Riverside, Calif., made the somewhat impulsive decision to donate a kidney, he probably didn’t know his selfless decision would lead not to one donation but 30.Senate picks wrong time to ax agency
Only West Virginia has a higher percentage of adult smokers than Indiana. That’s why an 11th-hour move to abolish the Indiana Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Board is ill-advised. Lawmakers should hold off until the public has had time to review a plan to shift responsibilities to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The Senate Appropriations Committee measure approved this week cuts the governor’s original allocation of $9.23 million a year for anti-tobacco programs to $4.6 million a year, as well as abolishing the board. Indiana’s share of the $246 billion settlement with the tobacco industry, not tax dollars, supports the smoking-prevention agency.
If Indiana hasn’t fared well in its efforts to reduce smoking among adults, it has still seen encouraging results. Annual per-capita cigarette consumption by Hoosiers fell 40 percent between 2001 and 2009. For high school students, the percentage of smokers fell from 31.6 percent in 2000 to 18.3 percent in 2008. In Fort Wayne, efforts by Tobacco Free Allen County were key to approval of the city’s comprehensive smoking ban, the strongest and best in the state.
Dick Conklin, executive director of the Tobacco Free Allen County, said abolishing the ITPC will result in the closing of the local resource offices.
Conklin hopes area lawmakers will push to restore funding at the level recommended by the governor. Given Indiana’s dubious distinction for highest percentage of adult smokers, it seems like the right move.
