http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/OH.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.whiotv.com/news/16201879/detail.html?rss=day&psp=news http://tobacco.org/news/265159.html Enforcing Ohio's ban on smoking is costing the city of Dayton and Montgomery County a lot of money. Officials with public health said they have spent around $70,000 since May of 2007. That is when the state began enforcing the law. WHIO-TV Channel 7 daynews@whiotv.com Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/05/12/story4.html?ana=from_rss http://tobacco.org/news/265130.html A plan to increase Ohio's employment base is starting with a round of job cuts. Northlich, a Cincinnati-based advertising agency that for six years worked on Ohio's anti-smoking campaigns, cut 27 employees at its Columbus and Cincinnati offices after the state abolished the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. The workers were casualties of the state's plan to use $230 million of the foundation's $270 million endowment for Gov. Ted Strickland's stimulus package that's designed to create 57,000 jobs. Business First of Columbus Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/BUSINESS/805090301 http://tobacco.org/news/265063.html One year after the Mansfield/Ontario/ Richland County Health Department became the county enforcement arm for Ohio's Smoke-Free Workplace Law, Environmental Health Director Joe Evans is seeing positive results. "I like to believe we have made substantial progress in eliminating smoke in the workplace," Evans said. Health department officials started investigating complaints about workplaces violating the smoking ban in May 2007. Since then, inspectors have received 365 complaints and made 225 investigations. Of those, 27 have resulted in warnings and 14 have resulted in fines. Evans knows the process hasn't been flawless. "Enforcement has been less than desirable," he said. Mansfield News Journal Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/08/TOBACCO.ART_ART_05-08-08_B1_KKA52QR.html?sid=101 http://tobacco.org/news/265042.html After spending more than $300 million over six years to keep younger Ohioans from smoking and to encourage older ones to quit, the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation disappeared this week. The leading statewide anti-smoking group was done in by legislation that diverted the majority of its endowment for an economic-development package intended to create jobs rather than nonsmokers. Most of the foundation's employees and programs were absorbed into the Ohio Department of Health under an arrangement scheduled to end June 30. After that, foundation programs such as Stand Ohio, an advertising and peer-pressure campaign aimed at youth, and a toll-free quit line, are likely to disappear. Columbus Dispatch jnash@dispatch.com (James Nash) Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=411237&Category=3&subCategoryID= http://tobacco.org/news/265041.html What the state gave, the state has spectacularly taken away from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. . . . there is no reason why the state health department can't continue the foundation's most successful programs. The Legislature is serving this narrow interest by giving the health department $40 million in foundation funds. Legislators will serve the greater good by devoting the rest of the foundation's assets to an array of state programs, affecting millions of Ohioans, that will suffer if the funding gap isn't closed. Canton Repository newsroom@cantonrep.com Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=126901 http://tobacco.org/news/264989.html Ohio has dismantled a foundation that paid for a statewide anti-smoking campaign, prompting the advertising agency that handled the account to lay off 27 employees May 5. Northlich, Cincinnati, has handled the creative and media efforts for the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation since 2002, winning a review against other shops in late 2007. "It's a tragedy that such a successful program may not continue," Northlich CEO Kathy Selker said in a statement. "I can't begin to express the depth of the personal and professional commitments our people made. ... When you know that 40% fewer teens smoke today than when we began this program, you know we've made a true difference." . . . In what The Columbus Dispatch called a "huge miscalculation," the foundation even tried to keep lawmakers' hands off the money by transferring the cash to the coffers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit based in Washington. Advertising Age mfrazier@adage.com (Mya Frazier) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/09/SMOKEBUCKS.ART_ART_05-09-08_B3_VAA5EPT.html?sid=101 http://tobacco.org/news/264987.html Ohio's anti-tobacco foundation went away this week, but the struggle over its money did not end with a court hearing yesterday. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David W. Fais kept alive a lawsuit by the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-smoking group based in Washington, that claims $190 million of the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation's $270 million endowment. . . . leaders of the Ohio foundation attempted to move the money to the American Legacy Foundation. Lawyers for the national foundation persuaded Fais yesterday not to dismiss their case. The matter is scheduled to return to his court June 2-3. Columbus Dispatch jnash@dispatch.com Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/05/05/daily14.html http://tobacco.org/news/264885.html The Ohio legislature is hoping a second time's the charm with an effort to secure more than $200 million from the state Tobacco Prevention Foundation for a jobs initiative. Gov. Ted Strickland on Tuesday signed House Bill 544, introduced a week ago by Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark. The bill liquidates all $270 million of the foundation's funding and dissolves its board, allocating $230 million for a $1.57 billion state economic stimulus plan. The remaining $40 million will be directed to the Ohio Department of Health to pay off the foundation's outstanding obligations and fund tobacco-cessation initiatives with what's left over. Dayton Business Journal dayton@bizjournals.com Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/BIZ01/805060337/1076/BIZ http://tobacco.org/news/264884.html Northlich, the downtown Cincinnati-based public relations, media and branding agency, said Monday it will lay off 27 people after it lost a key account, the state's Stand youth anti- tobacco campaign and OhioQuits cessation campaigns. Ohio legislators last week moved to abolish the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, which funded the campaign. The layoffs are split between Northlich's Columbus and Cincinnati offices. Northlich will employ 120, or 18.3 percent fewer people after the reconfiguration. . . . "It's a tragedy that such a successful program may not continue," Northlich CEO Kathy Selker said. The agency had a $13 million contract for this year for the campaign, which included billboards, television and Web advertising, public relations and grass-roots organizing. The Stand strategy was to debunk myths among teens that "everyone" smokes Cincinnati Enquirer JECKBERG@ENQUIRER.COM (JOHN ECKBERG) Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-07-2008/0004808390&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/264881.html Shelly Kiser, advocate for the American Lung Association, stated she doesn't think the smoking ban has lowered liquor sales and that there may be an orchestrated campaign to allege receipts are off 30%. She further stated "hundreds and hundreds of studies" show there's no harm to liquor sales or the economy from smoking bans. It has become clear that smoking bans do harm Ohio business. When state government acknowledges that truth, anti-smoking advocates predictably cry "liar." The smoking ban in Ohio is hurting businesses. -- In 2006, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services projected a 10,000 job gain for the hospitality and leisure industry for 2007. The first 12 months of the smoking ban saw 5,400 lost jobs for that industry. . . . "Ohio is not unique. Bar owners and clubs across the U.S. are crying foul. Pubs in Germany, Ireland, the UK are closing. Hospitality business owners in Germany are angry because they were told their pubs had nothing to fear from the smoking ban and how commercially successful bans have been in Ireland, the UK and the USA, where bars were allegedly teeming with 'new' customers," said Debi Kistner, Opponents of Ohio Bans. PR Newswire Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/05/06/ddn050708smoke.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16 http://tobacco.org/news/264856.html The foundation that operated Ohio's anti-smoking programs is gone. Gov. Ted Strickland on Tuesday, May 6, signed legislation, effective immediately, abolishing the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation and authorizing state Treasurer Richard Cordray to liquidate its $270 million in remaining funds -- with $230 million going to a new state jobs fund. The remaining $40 million goes for the foundation's obligations, which will be taken over by the state Health Department. The foundation was created with money from Ohio's share of the national tobacco settlement. Dayton Daily News whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com (William Hershey Staff Writer) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8281025 http://tobacco.org/news/264818.html Gov. Ted Strickland has signed a bill to strip the state's tobacco prevention foundation of its funds. The bill was a response to a lawsuit by the foundation to stop the state from using the majority of its funds as part of an economic package to create jobs. It was passed Tuesday by the Senate before receiving the governor's signature. The bill enables the state to transfer $40 million from the foundation to the Ohio Department of Health, which will take over the foundation's anti-tobacco efforts. AP Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2008/May/05/ar_news_050508_story1.asp http://tobacco.org/news/264773.html Like counterparts in the bar business, fraternal and veterans club managers say the statewide smoking ban that began a year ago has had varied effects on their business. "We probably went down initially 60 percent and we're probably still off 40 percent from where we were," said American Veterans Post 21 Canteen Manager Pat Enck. Bingo tickets are the only things keeping the doors open, he said. But at American Legion Post 3, Canteen Manager Kelley Zehender said, "We're starting to adjust." The Courier seppi@seppi.de (J. GRABER STAFF WRITER) Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/EDIT01/805040396 http://tobacco.org/news/264772.html With too few health department inspectors to keep up with the complaints, bar owners have low odds of actually being fined. In contrast, there's only one reason why Ohio bar owners should enforce the smoking ban: It's the law. . . . Since Ohio's ban, more than 180 restaurants in Northern Kentucky have voluntarily gone smoke-free. Further, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce supports a smoking ban like that of Ohio. It's true that, in Ohio, health departments have not been able to keep up with the flood of complaints about violations. Perhaps state officials could use the last of the dwindling funds from the tobacco settlement to pay for more enforcement. In the meantime, the most responsible step for bar owners is to uniformly obey the law as it now stands, whether they eventually decide to again bring the matter before voters or not. Cincinnati Enquirer letters@enquirer.com Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/05/04/smokin.ART_ART_05-04-08_D1_LLA3EL8.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101 http://tobacco.org/news/264765.html A year after Ohio banned smoking in most workplaces, many businesses are pursuing a loftier goal -- smoke-free workers. Getting employees to give up nicotine can help businesses reduce health-care costs and increase productivity. "The healthier you are, the less ill you are going to be and the less health care you are going to need," said Kathleen Herath, vice president for health and productivity for Nationwide Insurance, which offers smoking-cessation programs for employees and family members. About 40 percent of companies offer programs to help employees kick the habit Columbus Dispatch ccandisky@dispatch.com (Catherine Candisky THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH) Sun, 04 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT