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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > November > 27 > Entry
Editorial: Anti-smoking efforts were robbed blind
In the past decade, Ohio has fumbled away a historic opportunity to attack the ills of smoking and get young people not to take up tobacco products.
The really sad part is that there was no excuse. The state had the money, thanks to a legal settlement between major tobacco companies and several states, which brought Ohio $10 billion.
But lawmakers mostly chose to spend it on other things or — most egregiously — to steal back money it had set aside to fight smoking and redirect even that cash to other priorities.
Now the consequences are clear.
Today’s financial crisis, and accompanying drop in state revenue, has public health advocates warning that there probably won’t be money in the future for state-backed anti-tobacco programs, or even enforcement of Ohio’s popular three-year-old ban on smoking in indoor public places.
There is still a way to renew the war on smoking through carefully targeted taxes on existing tobacco products, like cigarettes and chew, and on new candy-like tobacco mints sinfully designed to hook a new generation of kids.
How badly is Ohio falling short? The state is spending $7.3 million this fiscal year on anti-smoking efforts and has plans to cut that amount to $2.8 million next year.
The national advocacy group Tobacco Free Kids recommends a state this size should spend $145 million a year. That means Ohio is spending less than 5 percent of that target.
Not coincidentally, Ohio recently ranked worst in the nation at curbing tobacco sales to kids.
It’s incredible the state could be handed $10 billion from the legal settlement as compensation for the health care ravages tobacco has caused its residents and be spending so little to fight the problem just a decade later.
Not that the state should have spent all the settlement money to combat smoking. But it failed to keep even the modest promises it made in this regard.
The majority of the settlement money was spent on building schools, an undeniably important need for Ohio in 1998. By some measures, Ohio ranked worst in the nation then for the quality of its school facilities. School construction is paying great dividends for schoolchildren.
But at the time, lawmakers pledged to spend a healthy $300 million a year on smoking prevention for kids. Later, state leaders proposed to set aside money in a special fund until it reached $1.2 billion, with the idea that the interest from the fund could be spent on prevention programs.
That, too, has now been junked as lawmakers raided the $230 million fund this summer during the budget crisis.
What Ohio didn’t do then — raise taxes on tobacco products — is the right move now. The higher taxes would discourage some tobacco users, or potential users, from spending their money on these harmful products.
At the same time, a big chunk of the money raised from a new tax could be directed back into prevention programs.
At $1.25 a pack, Ohio’s cigarette tax is below neighboring states. Raising the tax 75 cents — making Ohio even with Michigan — would bring in an estimated half-billion dollars in new tax revenue each year.
Even if just half of that money were spent annually on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, it would make a big difference.
The rest of the money could help the state with its ongoing budget woes.
Even more money could be raised if the tax were extended to new tobacco mints that allegedly are aimed at adults, but that are more than likely to appeal to kids.
A new tax can get Ohio back on the right path after a decade of squandered opportunity.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Health Care, Ohio government, Ohio politics, Scott Elliott
Comments
By Dan
November 27, 2009 2:37 AM | Link to this
Anyone else remember when this was a free country?
By HH
November 27, 2009 4:00 AM | Link to this
This is a complete waste of taxpayer money. Just think of the money that could be used for worthwhile purposes instead of financing the government’s attack on an industry.
By emperorlotku
November 27, 2009 5:40 AM | Link to this
Those that foster a tax are those that are willing to repress one element of society over another. Simpletons buy into the tax them till they quit smoking mentality. Fascists buy into the tax them because we can mentality. This ????? journalist ????? has an agenda, and he’s on a mission to repress 30 percent of the Ohio population.
By emperorlotku
November 27, 2009 5:41 AM | Link to this
Those that foster a tax are those that are willing to repress one element of society over another. Simpletons buy into the tax them till they quit smoking mentality. Fascists buy into the tax them because we can mentality. This ????? journalist ????? has an agenda, and he’s on a mission to repress 30 percent of the Ohio population.
By 3 Blind Mice
November 27, 2009 7:23 AM | Link to this
The profits from the lottery go to help Ohio schools. Every cent.
By Smoke and Mirrors
November 27, 2009 7:40 AM | Link to this
It sucks to be addicted, eh?
By tommyv
November 27, 2009 8:14 AM | Link to this
Martin: Where was the DDN when the tobacco securitization was occurring? You were right there supporting it “for the sake of the children.” Martin, you won’t be happy until every dollar (except yours of course!) is taken by the government. This stealing of money from the tobacco fund was the biggest case of fraud in Ohio’s budget history…and you and the DDN turned a blind eye to it. You better watch out what you ask for, Martin…you just might get it.
By daveb
November 27, 2009 9:18 AM | Link to this
People like Gottlieb seriously need to get off their high horse and leave smokers alone. How about a new tax on worthless editorial writers?
By Bill
November 27, 2009 9:35 AM | Link to this
Again we hear from the weakest minds among us…smokers and conservatives…losers that care only of their own pleasures and of no one else
By irishguy
November 27, 2009 12:49 PM | Link to this
Gee, you act surprised that gov’t”robbed peter to pay paul” I bet you believe that our social sec $$ are in a special safe place as well. The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of others peoples money.
By Ice Bandit
November 27, 2009 3:37 PM | Link to this
Ok, Marty and Ellen, let me see if I got this right. The state legislature squandered billions of other people’s money from the smokers’ settlement on things other than smoke cessation programs, and you two suggest raising taxes again to give even more money to the bunch that urinated the money away in the first place?
By Ray C
November 27, 2009 4:01 PM | Link to this
Once again whiny liberals (the DDN and posters here) want to raise taxes on anything they can to try and prevent freedom of choice. When will the DDN call for tollroads in Dayton, that could raise money. Why not tax breathing - doesn’t the city have an interest in clean air?
By joe_mamma
November 30, 2009 9:33 AM | Link to this
Bill in Brookville…resident socialist, You would be the one with the weak mind. I would also suggest you are intellectually and morally lazy. Instead of owning your own decisions and taking the responsibility of teaching your children and loved ones how to make decisions for themselves, you pass it off to the government and the rest of society. What we have here is the typical result you get when you have someone in government spending someone else’s money. They don’t care where it goes or what it was set aside for…they just spend it.
By marbee
December 4, 2009 7:15 PM | Link to this
All of these taxes need to be completely scaled back, all the states do is waste money! Taxes are killing our nation, not tobacco! And Sheeple.
By brogers
December 4, 2009 7:50 PM | Link to this [an error occurred while processing this directive]
Tobacco control is out of control. Their greed is insatiable. The only reason the smoking ban got on the ballot was due to massive election fraud. http://uspolitics.einnews.com/article.php?nid=774558 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w7brBXuZKw