It should come as no surprise that the proposal to increase the cigarette tax in Indiana has gone up in smoke.

It’s not the first time that the Republican-controlled legislature has resisted calls for such an increase in a state where more than 1,100 Hoosiers die each year from smoking — and about 1,400 die of exposure to secondhand smoke. Those supporting a boost include the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Hospital Association, United Way of Central Indiana, American Cancer Society, Indiana State Medical Association and American Heart Association.

The state’s cigarette tax, which hasn’t been increased since 2007, is 99.5 cents per pack. That’s lower than its neighboring states, including Illinois, with a cigarette tax of $2.98, Michigan at $2 and Ohio at $1.60. The average state cigarette tax is $1.89.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said the Senate was not interested in a cigarette tax increase, partially because it is a regressive tax, impacting lower-income households at a disproportionate rate. He also said the House’s proposed increase of 50 cents per pack was not large enough to truly impact smoking rates in Indiana.

“We want to be cognizant to that,” Bray said. “If we go with a tax like that, and we very well may do that someday, then we want to make sure that it’s going to really move the needle on some of the health parameters that we really need to move as far as health of Hoosiers go.”

Dr. Richard Feldman, the former state health commissioner whose column appears on these pages, has written that raising the cost of tobacco “is the single most effective strategy in reducing tobacco use. For every 10 percent increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes, smoking is reduced about 7% in children and 4% in adults.” He has argued for using the increased tax revenue toward additional funding for public health-related purposes including opioid treatment and increased funding of the state’s tobacco control prevention and cessation programs.

It’s not just public health advocates who back an increase. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kevin Brinegar pointed out that a statewide survey of employers shows that 70 percent of them support raising the cigarette tax by $2 a pack or more. “So they’re not putting themselves at any political risk if they were to do this.”

The Chamber also expressed concern that the Senate’s proposed budget doesn’t create a high enough tax on vaping devices. The proposal rolls back what the House approved earlier this session, and is much lower than Kentucky’s.

Brinegar noted that if e-liquid taxes aren’t raised to a level comparable to the current tobacco tax, it would be better to do nothing on the issue this session.

“It would be worse for them to pass it,” he said. “Because if we try to come back next year and get it back up to parity, they’ll say, ‘Oh, wait a minute, we raised that tax last year, we don’t need to do this anymore.’”

Given the legislature’s past failures to act on critical public health issues, doing nothing should come naturally.