Governor Kim Reynolds is proposing new taxes and tax hikes on smoking products that she says are a key factor in Iowa’s high rate of lung cancer. “We know that’s a known cause of lung cancer and I think it’s something that we need to take very seriously,” Reynolds said. “…National statistics say that 80% of lung cancer is caused by tobacco and when we’re looking at all the other levers, I don’t think we can set that out when it’s 80% of the narrative.” Reynolds invited University of Iowa researchers to Des Moines yesterday (Thursday) to release preliminary data from their study of what may be contributing to Iowa’s troubling rate of new cancer cases.
Research is showing there’s not one single cause driving Iowa’s cancer rate. The governor’s husband, who has never been a smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer in September of 2023.
