From the Executive Director

Governor Taft recently signed into law a two-year budget bill that will severely hamper tobacco prevention efforts in Ohio.  Despite our objections, the General Assembly reneged on its earlier pledge and failed to provide any funding to the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation (TUPCF) for the next two years. To date, more than $550 million in promised funding (all of which comes from the Master Settlement Agreement and not from tax dollars) has been diverted to other programs.  Tobacco prevention programs have been proven to lower smoking rates, save lives, and reduce state healthcare expenditures in the long run.  Starving TUPCF of the funds needed to effectively fulfill its mission is short-sighted and threatens to reverse the great progress Ohio has made in reducing the harmful effects of smoking.

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