Report Offers Alternatives to Removing Funds from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation |
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A new report provided by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids provides information that shows that Ohio leaders could fund the proposed economic stimulus plan by raising taxes on other tobacco products (as proposed by the coalition backed by the AMCNO) as well as an increased tax on cigarettes instead of taking the $230 million from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. This alternative would not only pay for the Governor’s economic stimulus plan but it would also provide funding for the foundation’s tobacco prevention programs up to the $145 million a year recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows that a 75-cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax, along with a parallel increase on other tobacco products, would generate an additional $390.8 million in the first year. The report says the proposal would:
The AMCNO is in favor of legislation to raise the tax on other tobacco products. The AMCNO has joined hundreds of advocates from around the state to urge the legislature to support tobacco prevention and cessation. The coalition is asking the legislature to correct the inequity between the “other tobacco products” tax and the cigarette tax. (The “other tobacco products tax” includes non-cigarette forms of tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco.) This correction is especially urgent given these new forms of tobacco and the increased emphasis on marketing. The Coalition is asking that the resulting funds be dedicated to tobacco prevention and cessation programs so that the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation can counteract this manipulative advertising. While the AMCNO and the Coalition for Investing in Tobacco-Free Youth were asking Ohio legislators to consider supporting legislation to correct the OTP tax and provide additional funding for the OATF, the legislature and the Governor were working on a $1.57 billion bipartisan job stimulus package. This package, which was unveiled by state leaders, has tapped numerous other funding sources – including most of the money currently held by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation (OATF). When it was set up by the state in 1999, OATF was projected to receive $1 billion for an endowment to continuously fund anti-smoking and cessation efforts. Funding, however, stalled at more than $300 million, and last year the state sold its future payments from Big Tobacco for a lump sum of about $5.5 billion – most of which was earmarked for school facility projects. This latest report includes an increased tax on other tobacco products as well as an increase in cigarette taxes – which could result in additional funding for the foundation and the state. The AMCNO already supports increasing the tax for other tobacco products and we are reviewing the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids report at this time. To view the complete report go to: |
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