Why should you make your call?
The facts:

• Tobacco use continues to take a toll on the lives of too many Ohioans. In fact, tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and disease, and lung cancer is the number one cancer killer.
• More than one-fifth of Ohio adults smoke. About the same percentage of kids smoke, and 17 percent use other tobacco products.
• Ohio spends $1.4 billion in Medicaid costs to treat sick smokers.
• Unfortunately, time is running out! The proposed state budget includes NO funding for prevention and cessation programs. In 2012, Ohio could become the only state that would not have a Quit line to help smokers quit.

Sample Script/Talking Points
Feel free to use the following talking points when making your call to your Senator:
I'm calling to urge Senator _____ to support comprehensive tobacco prevention funding. For every pack of cigarettes sold in Ohio, we pay $9.19 in related healthcare costs.* We can significantly reduce these costs - and more importantly, save lives - by reducing the number of tobacco-users in our state through comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco prevention programs and tobacco cessation programs. Even with the current budget deficit, we can't give up on health! By correcting the inequality in the Other Tobacco Products tax, we can use this additional revenue to fund comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco prevention funding. I ask Senator ______ to make this common-sense approach part of the budget.

*According to a scientific analysis by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

Feel free to use the following talking points when making your call to Governor Kasich:

I'm calling to urge Governor Kasich to support comprehensive tobacco prevention funding. For every pack of cigarettes sold in Ohio, we pay $9.19 in related healthcare costs.* We can significantly reduce these costs--and more importantly, save lives-- by reducing the number of tobacco-users in our state through comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco prevention programs and tobacco cessation programs. Even with the current budget deficit, we can't give up on health! By correcting the inequality in the Other Tobacco Products tax, we can use this revenue to fund comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco prevention funding.  I ask Governor Kasich to do it now as part of the budget and join the 70.7% of Ohioans who agree with this solution.**

*According to Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

**From Jan. 2011 polling of registered Ohio voters

How do I contact my Senator? Just click here!
How do I contact Governor Kasich? (614) 466-3555

Additional talking points:

• Ohio once had a model tobacco prevention and cessation program. The successful program helped to reduce smoking rates among adults and kids in Ohio.
• Ohio’s once model program will be snuffed out if Governor Kasich has his way. His proposed budget does not fund prevention programs, enforcement of the Smoke Free Workplace Act, or Ohio’s successful Quit line.
• Ohio collects more than $800 million in cigarette taxes each year. Unfortunately, NONE of that money is invested in tobacco prevention and cessation or enforcement of the Smoke Free Ohio law. In fact, Governor Kasich’s proposed budget eliminates tobacco prevention and cessation programs all together.
• Funding tobacco cessation saves both lives and money. I hope our lawmakers take prevention seriously and fund prevention and cessation programs.
• Other tobacco products, like cigars and smokeless tobacco, are not taxed at the same rate as cigarettes, making them far too attractive and affordable for our kids. By correcting this inequality in the Other Tobacco Products tax, we can generate much needed revenue to fund comprehensive, evidence based tobacco prevention funding to keep today's kids from becoming tomorrow's addicted tobacco users. This simple move would provide needed revenue for the state AND funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Call your Senator and Gov. Kasich today! Then let us know that you did!