OHIO NEWS - Bill Introduced to Increase Other Tobacco Products Tax, Establish Tobacco Use Prevention Center

May 23, 2008

In the wake of the legislature’s abolishment of the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, Ohio Representative Tyrone Yates is pushing a bill that would create a new center for tobacco use prevention. The bill would require that the new “Center for Tobacco Use Prevention” conduct research and fund programs related to tobacco use prevention and cessation. Funding for the center would be derived from the bill’s proposed tax increase on other tobacco products (OTP), such as cigars and smokeless tobacco product). If enacted, the bill would increase taxes on other tobacco products from the current rate of 17% to a rate of 54.8% of the purchase price, which would equal the current tax on cigarettes. Almost three quarters of the revenue collected from this tax would then be reserved for use by the Center for Tobacco Use Prevention.

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