Bill Text: IN HR0059 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Study of encouraging use of smokeless tobacco products.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2012-03-05 - Referred to Committee on Public Health [HR0059 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2012-HR0059-Introduced.html
A HOUSE RESOLUTION urging the Legislative Council
to create an interim study committee to consider opportunities
to reduce the risk of death and disease among smokers who will
not quit smoking by considering tobacco harm reduction
policies that encourage smokers to switch from cigarettes to
less risky tobacco products such as smokeless tobacco.
Whereas, For decades, Indiana has pursued policies
intended to encourage residents who smoke to quit and to
discourage others who do not smoke from starting;
Whereas, While cigarette smoking rates declined substantially from 1965 to 2004, the rate of decline has slowed in recent years; however, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control, 21.2% of adult residents of Indiana are still
smoking cigarettes;
Whereas, Numerous public health organizations, such as
the Institute of Medicine, the American Council on Science and
Health, the Royal College of Physicians, and the World Health
Organization, have all recognized that there is a continuum of
risk among tobacco product types, and that the risks associated
with cigarette use are substantially higher than those
associated with the use of smokeless tobacco;
Whereas, While abstaining from all tobacco is clearly the
best and most effective way for smokers to reduce their risk of
disease and premature death (no tobacco product has shown to
be safe), it is appropriate to consider whether those who will
not abstain can substantially reduce their risk of disease and
premature death by switching from cigarettes to smokeless
tobacco products that present less risk; and
Whereas, The Legislative Council is requested to authorize
an interim study committee to answer particular questions for
the purpose of assisting the General Assembly in evaluating the
inclusion of tobacco harm reduction as a strategy for reducing
smoking-attributable death and disease and the associated
health care costs in Indiana: Therefore,
SECTION 1. That the Indiana House of Representatives urges the Legislative Council to establish an interim study committee for the purpose of assisting the legislature in considering the inclusion of tobacco harm reduction strategies to reduce smoking-attributable death and disease.
HR 1548/DI 84
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