Ohio Judge Rules Tobacco Settlement Funds Should Be Used as Intended - to Reduce Tobacco Use and ...(kers quit. At the time of the 1...),Health

At the time of the 1998 state tobacco settlement, Ohio leaders promised to use a portion of the approximately $300 million in settlement funds the state receives each year for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. In 2000, they created the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation to receive this portion of the annual settlement funds and establish a permanent endowment to run tobacco prevention and cessation programs. However, Ohio leaders since regularly diverted funds intended for the Foundation. Then last year, Governor Strickland and the Legislature sough to raid the Foundation's remaining funds to help pay for an economic development plan.

The Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation has a strong record of success. The Foundation's programs have helped reduce smoking by 63.5 percent among middle school students and by 42 percent among high school students since 2000. Adult smoking in the state has declined as well, with 20.1 percent of Ohio adults reporting that they smoke, down from 26.3 percent in 2000.

It is critical that Ohio continue to invest in programs to prevent children from starting to smoke and help smokers quit. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Ohio. Each year in Ohio, tobacco use claims 18,500 lives and costs the state $4.37 billion in health care bills, including $1.4 billion in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $625 a year on every Ohio household.