AMCNO involved in legislative initiative aimed at reducing use of other tobacco products

In keeping with the AMCNO goal to advocate for our members and their patients on public health issues the AMCNO has agreed to participate in a new legislative initiative known as the Investing in Tobacco-Free Youth Coalition. The Coalition has already begun their kick-off of a campaign to reduce the use of non-cigarette forms of tobacco. The group is dedicated to reducing the use of non-cigarette tobacco products, known as “other tobacco products” (OTP). The group is seeking to make these products less appealing to youth by correcting the inequity between the OTP tax and the cigarette tax. The revenue generated would be used to fund youth and community tobacco prevention programs around Ohio. 

When legislators increased the cigarette tax in 2003 and 2005, they failed to also raise the other tobacco products tax. The Coalition is asking the General Assembly to correct this error so that the other tobacco products tax equals 55% of wholesale price, equivalent to the current cigarette tax. (The current OTP tax rate is 17%.) The legislature should then link the other tobacco products tax to the cigarette tax, so that no corrections will be needed in the future. Statistics offered by the Coalition show that the correction would decrease the overall consumption of other tobacco products by over 13%, and cause a 25% reduction in use of these products by youths. While Ohio has seen a significant decrease in high school students’ cigarette use from 2000 to 2006, there has been no similar reduction among this population for smokeless tobacco or cigar use, according to the Ohio Youth Tobacco Survey. 

The AMCNO has endorsed this concept and plans to participate as a member of the Coalition steering committee – as well as work with the Coalition on lobbying and advocacy matters. In addition, the AMCNO has been asked to participate in the Coalition’s planned Advocacy Day in Columbus to educate legislators on the need for this type of legislation. For more information on this initiative contact E. Biddlestone at the AMCNO offices at 216-520-1000, ext. 100.