By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Tax hikes proposed: Iowa would raise cigarette taxes to the national average and add a new 15% tax on vaping and consumable hemp products.
• Lung cancer focus: University of Iowa data shows Iowa’s lung cancer rates exceed neighboring states and are declining more slowly.
• Tobacco targeted as lever: Reynolds argues smoking remains the most preventable and policy-responsive driver of cancer outcomes.

No, not that Reynolds. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing higher taxes on cigarettes, vaping products, and consumable hemp, arguing that tobacco use remains the single largest driver of the state’s elevated lung cancer rates.

“National statistics say that 80% of lung cancer is caused by tobacco,” Reynolds said Thursday in Des Moines. “When we’re looking at all the other levers, I don’t think we can set that aside when it’s 80% of the narrative.”

Reynolds unveiled the proposal alongside University of Iowa researchers who presented early findings from an ongoing study examining why Iowa continues to report some of the highest cancer rates in the country. The governor said the research underscores the role of preventable behaviors, particularly smoking.

Under Reynolds’ plan, Iowa would raise its cigarette tax to the national average of $2.01 per pack. The proposal would also impose a new 15% tax on vaping products and consumable hemp products—categories that currently face lower or no comparable excise taxes at the state level.

“Today’s research findings make it very clear how important healthy behaviors are for the overall health and well-being,” Reynolds said. “My bill aims to really amplify that message.”

University of Iowa researchers reported that while Iowa shares similar demographics with neighboring states—including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas—it stands apart when it comes to lung cancer. Iowa has a higher incidence of late-stage lung cancer, and the gap is widening.

“I did want to call out our incidence rates for lung cancer,” said Dr. Mary Charlton, director of the Iowa Cancer Registry. “This is one cancer for which we are not like our neighbors. We have a higher rate, and unfortunately that translates into higher mortality.”

Charlton noted that while lung cancer rates are declining nationally, they are falling more slowly in Iowa than elsewhere. Other cancers—including breast, skin, and prostate—have also been increasing more sharply in Iowa since 2013, though colon cancer has been declining at roughly the national pace.

Reynolds also spoke personally about the issue, referencing her husband Kevin Reynolds’ lung cancer diagnosis in 2023. Despite never smoking, his cancer was discovered only after it metastasized to his spine. After immunotherapy, his cancer is now in remission.

“That experience reinforced how difficult lung cancer is to detect,” Reynolds said. “If it hadn’t spread, I’m not sure we would have found it in time.”