(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

The start of “political season” in many states brings with it a host of studies and reports filled with data that could inform legislative decision-making. Among them is another WalletHub study: “The Real Cost of Smoking by State (2026.)”

In West Virginia, it may come as a surprise to learn, the lifetime cost of smoking is among the lowest in the country.

The Mountain State ranks 38th for both out-of-pocket costs at $153,300 and financial opportunity costs at $2,685,329 over a smoker’s lifetime. It won’t surprise anyone who knows how Duke University got its name to know North Carolina has the lowest costs in the country in both categories.

North Carolina politicians no doubt believe the state owes a lot to the tobacco industry.

But what gives in West Virginia? Why are elected officials so willing to go after food dyes, sugary sodas and vaccines, but unwilling to ask why we are keeping it relatively easy to buy cigarettes?

Those immediate financial costs tell only half the tale, of course. According to WalletHub, “Each year, smoking costs the U.S. over $600 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity.”

West Virginia’s Department of Health reports the state ranks second nationally for adults who smoke (28.2% of them) and highest for smokeless tobacco use (8.6%). At the same time, the department reports 13.3% of West Virginia adults are cancer survivors. Lung and bronchus cancers account for 17% of new cancers in the state. Somewhere between 1,400 and 1,500 Mountain State residents die of lung cancer each year.

Advocacy organizations suggest raising cigarette taxes and increasing funding for awareness and cessation programs can make a difference on that front. And we are, after all, looking for new revenue streams. It’s been a decade since lawmakers here moved on the issue, though there was an increase on the tax of tobacco products other than cigarettes a couple of years back.

Perhaps it’s time to take another look at doing more.