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Ohio's Declining Adult Smoking Rates Outpaces Trend
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's declining adult smoking rates are outpacing the national downward trend, the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation announced yesterday. Ohio saw a dramatic 17.4% drop from 25.9% in 2003 to 21.4% in 2004, a drop that represents an estimated 375,000 Ohioans."Smokers in Ohio are sending a message: they no longer want to be addicted," said Mike Renner, executive director of the foundation. "Our hard work on the front lines of tobacco control is paying off. In just five years, we have expanded tobacco prevention and cessation programming to every Ohio county and the results are astonishing."The decrease in smoking among Ohio adults is nearly twice as large as the decline in smoking nationwide (20.1% in 2004, 21.5% in 2003), Renner said. The populations that experienced the greatest decline are Ohio women and African-American adults. Smoking among adult females decreased 30.3%, from 26.1% in 2003 to 18.2% in 2004. Smoking among adult African-Americans decreased 24.4% from 27.9% in 2003 to 21.1% in 2004.The research also suggests that Ohioans who use tobacco want help. Ohioans who smoke are four times more aware of cessation programs in their community than they were one year ago. And 75.7% of Ohio smokers noted their intentions to quit smoking. "Among adults in Ohio who smoke, there is a noticeable shift from 'I'm going to quit someday' to 'I'm ready to quit right now,'" said Renner. "This shift indicates willingness for actual behavioral change rather than an intention to quit at a later time. Setting a specific quit date is an important step to following through with the commitment to quit tobacco use. This is a tool we utilize through the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line, where more than 18,000 Ohioans have enrolled since the launch in September."The financial impact of Ohio's declining smoking rate also is significant, Renner noted. More than $458 million of Ohio's Medicaid budget is spent annually on treating tobacco-related diseases, while smoking-related state and federal government expenditures cost each Ohio household approximately $534 each year. The average price for one pack of cigarettes is $3.57, according to R.J. Reynolds' 2002 market overview. For a one-pack-a-day smoker, that is nearly $1,270 per year, and nearly $2,541 annually for a two-pack-a-day smoker.Through the foundation, Ohio adult smokers have various tobacco prevention and cessation programming options. More than 70 state grantees service every county in the state and the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW) provides free phone-based cessation services to all citizens. stand, the state's youth- led anti-tobacco campaign, helps youth avoid ever becoming a part of Ohio's declining adult smoking population. Youth are also effective messengers to their smoking parents and are often an important motivator for their parents to quit.The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 2000 and is funded with monies secured from the national Master Settlement Agreement between tobacco companies and 46 states. The foundation is charged with reducing tobacco use among Ohioans, with an emphasis on youth, minority and regional populations, pregnant women and others who may be disproportionately affected by tobacco useVisit the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation: www.standohio.org"