National Report: Ohio Ranks Last in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Ohio is tied for last 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 is one of five states that have budgeted zero state funds for tobacco prevention programs this year.  This is the second year in a row that Ohio has provided zero state funding for tobacco prevention.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Ohio provide $145 million a year for tobacco prevention programs. 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 none of it on tobacco prevention programs.
• The tobacco companies spend $440.1 million a year to market their products in Ohio.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Broken  Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 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. Unfortunately, Governor Kasich and the Legislature this year did not restore any of the funding, and Ohio will again spend no state funds on tobacco prevention.

"By failing to spend any state money on tobacco prevention programs, Ohio is again one of the worst states for protecting our kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Ohio needs to increase the tobacco tax and restore funding for tobacco prevention. Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Ohio that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Ohio, 19.4 percent of high school students smoke, and 16,900 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. Altogether, the states have cut funding for these programs to the lowest level since 1999, when they first started receiving tobacco settlement payments.  Key national findings of the report include:

•  The states this year will collect $25.6 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.8 percent of it – $456.7 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 have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 12 percent ($61.2 million) in the past year and by 36 percent ($260.5 million) in the past four years.
• Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level.

The report warns that the nation's progress in reducing smoking is at risk unless states increase funding for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.  The United States has significantly reduced smoking among both youth and adults, but 19.3 percent of adults and 19.5 percent of high school students still smoke.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. 

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