(Radio Iowa) - Governor Kim Reynolds is proposing new taxes and tax hikes on smoking products that she says are a key factor in Iowa's high rate of lung cancer.
Reynolds says you cannot set aside national statistics that indicate 80 percent of lung cancer cases are linked to smoking. Reynolds proposes raising the state tax on a pack of cigarettes to the national average, which is just over two dollars a pack. Reynolds is recommending that the state start charging a 15 percent tax on vaping products and consumable hemp products.
The University of Iowa's cancer research is focusing on the most common types of cancer and has found Iowa has more cases of late-stage lung cancer than other states.