Columbus, OH – May 2, 2017– This statement can be attributed to Jeff Stephens, director of government relations in Ohio for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
“The Ohio House of Representatives (OHR) has chosen Big Tobacco over buckeye kids. OHR passed a budget today that cut the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program at the Ohio Department of Health by 60 percent from its FY ’17 allocation in the last biennial budget. ACS CAN is shocked that the House took this action.
“Decimating an already underfunded Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program is unacceptable.
“We cannot leave Ohio’s kids vulnerable to the masterful marketing efforts of the tobacco industry to hook buckeye children into a lifetime of addiction to tobacco. The tobacco industry spends an estimated $420 million per year on marketing its addictive and deadly products in Ohio – that’s over $1 million per day in Ohio alone! As we stand today, 259,000 Ohio kids will die prematurely from tobacco.
“Furthermore, OHR did not take this opportunity to increase Ohio’s tobacco taxes. As the state faces a budget shortfall, raising the cigarette tax by $1 per pack would have generated new reliable annual revenue of $313 million per year. This money could be used to support the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program as well as other budget shortfalls.
“Finally, annual health care costs from smoking exceed $5.6 billion in Ohio and Ohio’s Medicaid program spends $1.72 billion each year to treat smoking-related diseases. Raising the cigarette tax would cause 64,900 current smokers to quit, thus saving all Ohioans on health care costs. Raising the other tobacco products tax to the same level would produce additional health and economic benefits for Ohio.
“It’s time for our legislature to choose between buckeye kids and Big Tobacco.”