National Report: Ohio Ranks 47th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 09, 2013, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fifteen years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, Ohio ranks 47th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

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Ohio currently spends $1.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 1 percent of the $145 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Ohio include:

Ohio this year will collect $1.2 billion in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 0.1 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Ohio is spending less than a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Ohio's current funding for tobacco prevention is a small increase after the state provided zero funding for three years in a row, but it is still just one percent of what the CDC recommends.
The tobacco companies spend $394.7 million a year to market their products in Ohio. This is 263 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 15 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.

Until 2008, Ohio had a highly successful tobacco prevention program, which was run by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. However, state funding for the program was severely cut and then eliminated because then-Governor Ted Strickland and the Legislature raided the tobacco prevention endowment to pay for other programs.

To reduce tobacco use, health advocates are calling on Ohio leaders to raise the state tobacco tax and increase funding for tobacco prevention.

"Ohio once again is one of the most disappointing states when it comes to protecting kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "To protect kids and save lives, we urge Ohio leaders to raise the tobacco tax and increase funding for tobacco prevention programs. It's a smart investment that will save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Ohio, 21.1 percent of high school students smoke, and 11,500 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 18,500 lives and costs the state $4.4 billion in health care bills.

Nationally, the report finds that most states are failing to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Key national findings of the report include:

The states this year will collect $25 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.9 percent of it – $481.2 million – on tobacco prevention programs. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
States are falling woefully short of the CDC's recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs. Altogether, the states have budgeted just 13 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends.
Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level.

There is more evidence than ever before that tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. Florida, which has a well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention program, reduced its high school smoking rate to just 8.6 percent in 2013, far below the national rate. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, Washington state saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent on the program.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. Nationally, about 18 percent of adults and 18.1 percent of high school students smoke.

More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids