"We are disappointed that the House did not take the opportunity to implement proven strategies to reduce the terrible toll of tobacco use in Ohio," said Jeff Stephens, director of government relations in Ohio for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
"Increasing the cigarette tax by $1 per pack would raise a much needed additional $313 million per year, and most importantly stimulate an 11 percent reduction in the youth smoking rate. Fifty years of evidence also indicates that matching the other tobacco products tax to the cigarette tax level and restoring tobacco cessation and prevention funding to levels from the mid-2000s would deter our youth from initiating a lifetime of addiction to tobacco products," Stephens said. "Moreover, these proven strategies for reducing tobacco use would positively impact the enormous health care costs associated with treating tobacco-related disease."