Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said an increase in Iowa's tobacco tax would help prevent deaths like those in his own family and administration, the Associated Press reported March 27.

Two days after Vilsack's former chief of staff, Dr. Stephen Gleason, committed suicide, Vilsack spoke about the need to cut tobacco use by raising the tobacco tax. He noted that his mother, father, and sister all died from health problems related to smoking, and that Gleason had struggled with an addiction to prescription medications.

"It starts, I think, with the first addiction, which is tobacco," Vilsack said. "Every single member of my family died as a result of complications from a smoking habit. The reality is that addiction is a very difficult and troubling aspect of our society."

But House Speaker Chris Rants (R-Sioux City) has blocked debate on the proposed increase in the tobacco tax. "Dr. Gleason was a good man and it's unfortunate what his addiction led him to do," Rants said. "Those addictions are completely unrelated to tobacco. Not all solutions can be found in raising a tax on tobacco products."

Rants said the state should enforce the law against tobacco possession among people under age 18 to stop youth smoking. "Perhaps it's time for all of us to get serious about enforcing the laws we have on the books today," he said. "Maybe we ought to raise the age to 21."