Akron
Beacon Journal...
Broken pledge
More Ohioans are smoking. It’s no surprise why
June 24, 2011
The federal Food and Drug Administration this week stepped up the fight
against smoking, slapping on cigarette packs graphic pictures of the
health damage, from breathing disorders to cancers, that results from
tobacco use.
The high cost of treating smoking-related diseases, the rationale goes,
warrants the strongest warnings possible to prevent tobacco use and to
help smokers quit. Ohio made the same case when it joined other states
and sued tobacco companies to recover some of the health-care costs,
winning billions of settlement dollars. Estimates are that smoking
costs Ohio $4.37 billion for health care every year.
State officials made good for years on the pledge to dedicate a portion
of Ohio’s tobacco settlement funds to smoking prevention and cessation
programs. The effective use of the funding could be seen in the
declining smoking rate, Ohio even leading the nation at some point in
the rate of decline. In 1996, 28.4 percent of adults in Ohio smoked. By
2008, the rate had dropped to 20.1 percent, the lowest in 15 years,
But then, three years ago, in a short-sighted move, the Statehouse
virtually emptied the account for tobacco prevention and cessation
programs, severely reducing the capacity to drive down tobacco use or
enforce legislation barring smoking in workplaces, including bars and
restaurants. Not surprisingly, the latest survey of tobacco use by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the smoking rate in
Ohio shot up to 22.5 percent last year.
The FDA’s aggressive warnings indicate the fight against smoking is far
from won. There is no money in Ohio’s current budget, or any apparent
intention to restore funding, for the programs. It is a shame that
rather than stepping up efforts to help Ohioans quit or never to start
smoking, the state is erasing gains achieved over several years by
failing commit the necessary resources.
Read it at the Akron Beacon Journal
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