Anti-tobacco push in Ohio a mixed bag

Ohio has made some recent strides in keeping tobacco products out of the hands of youths, but the state still doesn’t do enough to help others quit smoking or keep them from lighting up in the first place, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

In its annual report card on state and federal efforts to lower tobacco use released Wednesday, the nonprofit association gave the Buckeye State two A grades: for having smoke-free air and for raising the minimum age to buy tobacco to 21. Ohio’s Tobacco 21 law, which went into effect last October, makes it a misdemeanor to sell or provide cigarettes and other tobacco products, vaping devices and vape liquid to anyone younger than 21.

“That’s a very huge win in terms of helping reduce the number of young people who are using tobacco products, so I think that’s something to be proud of,” said Ken Fletcher, the American Lung

Association’s director of advocacy in Ohio.

But the state got a D for access to smoking cessation services — down from a C last year — and two F’s for tobacco prevention and funding and for its lower tobacco tax compared to some other states.

About 21% of Ohio adults smoke and 28% use at least one tobacco product, according to the report. By comparison, only about 13.7% of adults in the United States smoked cigarettes in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The smoking rate is 7% among Ohio high school students and 2.6% among middle school students, according to the American Lung Association.

The association is urging Ohio legislators to increase funding for tobacco control and prevention programs. The state’s annual budget for funding these programs is a bit more than $12 million.

The state also receives annual federal funding of nearly $1.8 million, bringing the total funding for these efforts in Ohio to roughly $14 million.

The CDC, meanwhile, recommends that Ohio spend $132 million on tobacco control.

Columbus Public Health is working on a tobacco prevention program called “Clear the Air” that is primarily targeted at young people ages 12 to 20 and is expected to launch in March.

“We need to focus more on vaping and not cigarettes,” said Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts.

“(Teenagers) see vaping as a safe, cool thing to do and smoking cigarettes as a bad, dirty thing,” Roberts said, adding that such a belief is not backed by health data. “There is no distinction between vaping and smoking.”

The American Lung Association also recommends Ohio match the tax on other forms of tobacco products such as cigars, chewing tobacco and cigars to the cigarette tax.

In Ohio, cigarettes are subject to a state excise tax of $1.60 per pack of 20 plus a state sales tax of about 37 cents, bringing the total tax per pack to $1.97. The average cost of a pack in Ohio is $6.10, the 23rd highest in the United States, according to the 2020 Sales Tax Handbook.

Ohio lawmakers should also outlaw flavored tobacco products, including vaping liquid for e-cigarettes, “to keep those flavors away from the young people,” Fletcher said.

There have been 60 deaths and 2,668 people hospitalized nationwide due to lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarettes as of Jan. 14, according to the CDC.

In Ohio, there have been 96 confirmed cases of lung illnesses and 88 hospitalizations linked to vaping as of Thursday, including 12 in Franklin County, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The median age of those who have been sickened is 25 years old.

Once the young start vaping, Fletcher said, “we’re getting a whole new generation addicted to tobacco.”