Ohio Supreme Court Rules to Allow Use of Tobacco Funds for Other Budget Items

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the state had the authority to shut down the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation (OTPF) in 2008 and divert Ohio’s share of tobacco settlement funds to other budget items. The ruling upholds the December 2009 decision of the Ohio Court of Appeals of Franklin County, Tenth Appellate District that reversed a lower court’s order permanently enjoining the State from dissolving the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Endowment Fund.

The American Legacy Foundation and other groups had asked the Ohio Supreme Court to block the state's diversion of $258 million for purposes other than smoking cessation and prevention. Also filing a friend of the court brief in support of American Legacy were the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio, the American Heart Association, the American Heart Association Great Rivers Affiliate, the American Lung Association, the American Lung Association Of Ohio, the American Cancer Society Ohio Division, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Ohio State Medical Association, the Association Of Ohio Health Commissioners, the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids, and the Ohio Public Health Association.
The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) provided more than $200 billion to be paid to the states over 26 years in recognition of the lives and money lost to tobacco. To ensure that a substantial portion of its recovery was spent specifically on tobacco control, Ohio established OTPF and created an endowment for it. A report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other leading public health groups in November 2010, “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 12 Years Later” found that Ohio is ranked last among U.S. states in the amount it spends on tobacco control efforts. The only state spending that Ohio has budgeted for tobacco control and prevention in FY2011 is $3.5 million in carryover from last year.

The Ohio Supreme Court decision means that it is up to the new governor how the funds would be spent. The AMCNO is an active member of the Investing in Tobacco Free Youth Coalition in Ohio and we will continue to monitor the impact of this decision.