We welcome readers' opinions on matters of interest to our community.
The weekly deadline for Letters to the Editor is 5:00P.M. on Wednesday. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Letters from the same writer will be accepted no more frequently than every 30 days.
Due to limited space, coverage of community news, and production costs, only two letters regarding a certain issue will be printed each week. All other letters will be posted on this web site.
The newspaper reserves the right to accept or reject letters, and to edit them for clarity and length.
Letters must be accompanied by the author's full name, address, and daytime phone number for verification purposes.
Please limit letters to 300 words.
You may use this form to submit your letter via email.
Dear Editor:
Devastating. That is the best word to describe Governor Strickland’s raid on money allocated to support tobacco control efforts in Ohio. In 1998, the Attorney General signed the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) to recover billions of dollars in costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. The central purpose of the MSA was to reduce smoking, particularly youth smoking.
In Ohio, the tobacco settlement was used to create several endowment funds, including the tobacco prevention and control fund that is administered by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation.
The Ohio Legislature has redirected the majority of the Tobacco Foundation’s funding to the State’s general fund. The foundation has received only a small percent of the promised endowment. The most recent raid on funds occurred when Governor Strickland signed a bill that diverts all but $40 million to his economic stimulus plan.
If Ohio legislators truly want to create economic stability we need to consider the significant cost of tobacco use, both now and in the future. By investing in tobacco prevention we will save Ohio taxpayers money by reducing the $4.37 billion a year Ohioans pay in health care bills related to tobacco, including $1.4 billion in Medicaid payments. The average Ohio household pays $638 a year in taxes because of tobacco; while tobacco companies spend $724 million a year marketing their deadly products in the state. Ohio must continue its dedication to tobacco prevention or our citizens will pay the price.
Lori Kondas
Vice President
of Mission Services
American Lung
Association of Ohio
