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Smokers Costing Hoosier State a Bundle

By Scott Sarvay
June 19, 2012 Updated Jun 19, 2012 at 5:37 PM EDT

INDIANA (Indiana’s NewsCenter) - The next time you light up a cigarette keep this in mind. All the smokers combined in the Hoosier state are costing taxpayers a bundle.

According to a new study conducted by Ball State University, of the 21.2 percent of Indiana residents who regularly smoke cigarettes, the habit costs the state almost $2.6 billion in lost productivity and $2.2 billion in health care costs every year.

The study concluded that in terms of the percentage of the population that uses cigarettes, Indiana ranked 42nd worst among the 50-states and Washington, D.C.

The study also found that 60-percent of Hoosiers who do smoke have tried to quit the habit at least once.



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