Fewer smokers is good news for Ohio; it could get better

Ohio has had its troubles of late, and so good news of any kind is welcome.
Last week there was some very good news from the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, which announced that the state's adult smoking rate dropped from 25.9 percent in 2003 to 21.4 percent in 2004. That's a 17.4 percent drop, well above the national average.
But percentages tell only a small part of the story. Behind those percentages there are 375,000 Ohioans who are no longer smokers. And behind each of those 375,000 people there are hundreds of thousands more people -- husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters -- who are happier because their loved ones are healthier.
More on the way
And there is even better news. The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, and other organizations devoted to anti-smoking education, intend to help more people quit.
Finding candidates isn't difficult. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70 percent of the nation's 46 million smokers say they want to quit. But fewer than 5 percent of those who go cold turkey manage to stay nicotine-free. Most last less than a week.
But help is available. TUPCF, which was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 2000 and is funded with money secured from the national Master Settlement Agreement, has established the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line -- 1-800-QUIT NOW. That's 1-800-784-8669 for people who don't like to dial acronyms, or who are confused by the fact there is no Q on a telephone keypad.
Telephone counseling is available for anyone wanting to quit. Since the line was established in September, experience has shown that callers are five times more likely to quit successfully than those who go it alone.
Smoking cessation tips are also available on the Web at www.standohio.org.
Just be practical
Being practical sorts, we can't help but be impressed with the economic argument for quitting.
On a personal economic basis, consider these numbers.
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. For a two-pack-a-day smoker, it's double -- at nearly $2,541 per year. '
Look at the car ads in Sunday's paper. A former smoker could lease a new car for what it costs to smoke between a pack and two packs a day.
And every taxpayer -- smokers and nonsmokers, liberals and conservatives -- should be delighted to see people quitting smoking. According to Michael Renner, executive director of TUPCF, more than $458 million of Ohio's Medicaid budget is spent annually on treating tobacco-related diseases. Smoking-related state and federal government expenditures cost each Ohio household approximately $534 each year, according to Tobacco-Free Ohio.
We advocated before TUPCF was even formed that a large share of the money Ohio was to get from the tobacco lawsuits be expended on anti-smoking efforts. We liked the irony of using tobacco money to reduce tobacco use, and we like the idea of Ohioans living longer, happier and healthy lives without cigarettes dangling from their lips.
Many other people agreed, and it's nice to see evidence that we were all right.