I have lung cancer. Iowa needs aggressive new laws.
Iowa lawmakers need to do something about cancer.
At 30 years old, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, and it has turned my life upside down. Even as a non-smoker, I still got lung cancer, and I care about advocating for all lung-cancer-related issues. Today, my hope is that no other Iowans have to follow in my footsteps. But we need support from the Iowa Legislature.
Senate File 2480 adds a 5-cent tax on e-cigarettes and nicotine products while leaving cigarettes — the leading cause of preventable cancer — untouched. Legislators have said they are serious about addressing Iowa’s high cancer rates, but they cannot solve our cancer crisis without addressing tobacco. Research shows the most effective way to reduce use, especially among young people, is through a significant price increase.
I’m calling on lawmakers to reject this approach and support a comprehensive evidence-based tobacco tax bill that will protect public health and meaningfully reduce Iowa’s cancer rates, especially lung cancer. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. It’s been nearly 20 years since Iowa has increased its tobacco tax, and it’s time we do it right.
Clara Cirks, Dallas Center
Baby boomers don’t need an exclusive Iowa tax break
Baby boomers are the wealthiest generation in the history of our nation and hold over $85 trillion in assets, which means homeownership is not their only major advantage over everyone born after them (Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, i.e. “The Future”). Our nation’s policies are heavily biased toward keeping seniors in homes that are more spacious than should otherwise be possible.
Young people struggle to start families and are unable to afford homes and to build equity in desirable neighborhoods close to quality schools and employment. Massive student loan debt and the lack of stable career opportunities compound the generational divide.
Given the economic civil war dividing boomers with later generations, why would the Iowa Senate vote to exempt 100% of a wealthy Boomer’s home from property taxes by 2029 if the home has no mortgage? Poor seniors that have a mortgage would not be exempt from property taxes unless they’re over 100 years of age. Young families will foot the bill and those who rent will pay for the higher multi-residential property tax class.
Younger Iowans would do well to riot in the streets over this injustice, but unfortunately, we’re too busy working multiple gigs and paying taxes to support the boomers’ health and vast wealth.
I hope that lawmakers will awaken to fact that keeping boomers in their homes at the expense of the future is a misguided policy that will keep home prices elevated and out of reach for young families. Boomers vote, and always for their immediate self-interest, but the future needs help building stable families and neighborhoods now, as we were not born with the boomers’ generational silver spoon and should not have to subsidize their desire to age in place within their spacious and very well-appointed homes.
Ryan Galloway, Des Moines
Iowa must stand up against Big Tobacco
Iowa is becoming a haven for one of the worst industries in recent U.S. history: the tobacco industry. The user fee on cigarettes has not been raised in nearly 20 years, and we don’t even have a user fee on vapes or nicotine pouches. The Iowa Senate has proposed a mere 5-cent increase on these new products. Let’s be clear: 5 cents is a drop in the bucket. It will have no impact on helping Iowans to quit smoking or prevent youth from starting. What it does is let legislators off the hook from addressing cigarette and nicotine taxes for another 20 years.
What legislators need to focus on is how to be the front-line defense against the tobacco industry for our youth. As someone who is a guest speaker in schools, vaping is the number one problem that teens, administrators, and school resource officers complain about. Some students cannot go an entire school day without sneaking off to vape because their nicotine addiction is so strong.
Other students get UTIs; they go all day without using the lavatory to avoid going into the one room in school where people can’t get caught vaping on camera. If this is surprising, it shouldn’t be. The industry spends $1 million per hour on marketing. Advertising and marketing is a science. Youth have and will always be their target market. Unlike previous generations that had to smell the stench of cigarettes, this generation is being enticed with flavors like grape and bubble gum.
It’s time for Iowa to take action. Increase the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and tax other nicotine products at 50% of the wholesale price. This will help nearly 10,000 Iowa adults to quit smoking and prevent 2,500 children from starting to smoke. It’s time to tackle Iowa’s cancer crisis and protect our children from this evil industry.
Maggie Ballard, Council Bluffs
Universities do more than job training
A recent letter to the editor, “Four-year colleges don’t provide a very useful product,” makes some solid points. First, trade schools can be an excellent opportunity for many people. Second, we need to make higher education more affordable. Third, a university education is not the best fit for everyone.
However, the author perpetuates false notions about higher education that should be rebutted. Higher education brings a great amount of economic value to the public. In addition, the value of university education is not simply job training or direct monetary gain but includes personal discovery, enrichment, and tools that serve oneself and their community over a lifetime.
Universities provide a diverse range of experiences and engagement with ideas, people and modes of inquiry. Increasingly politically motivated attacks on higher education have been distorting reality and creating needless harm. The subsequent calls for what should or should not be taught are based on a lack of information but also reflect the anti-thesis of critical thinking, reflection, and rigor that is provided in a university education.
Kevin Lair, Winterset
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: I have lung cancer. Iowa needs aggressive new laws. | Letters
Reporting by The Register’s readers, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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