American Lung Association again gives Ohio an ‘F’ for smoking cessation

For the fifth year in a row, The American Lung Association gave Ohio an F for its smoking cessation efforts (Source: “Ohio failing smoking cessation efforts again, American Lung Association report says,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jan. 22, 2014).

Ohio continues to struggle on the Lung Assocation’s annual State of Tobacco Control Report, despite a small budgeted increase in statewide funding for programs to reduce smoking.

The state received poor grades in three areas in Wednesday’s report — two “Fs,” one for tobacco control and prevention funding and the other for coverage for cessation programs by state insurance, and a “D” for tax rates on cigarettes, which are lower than many other states.

The only consistently high grade for the state has been in "smokefree air," where Ohio has earned an “A” since passing workplace smoking restrictions in 2006.

Public health officials have linked Ohio’s lack of public funding for smoking cessation efforts, which was cut off in 2009, to the state’s adult smoking rate, which increased from 20 percent in 2009 to 23 percent today. The national average is about 19 percent.