BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS - Ohio and at least 15 other states will join the proposed $206 billion settlement with tobacco companies, but questions remain about whether the agreement will curb smoking and tobacco-related illnesses.
Flanked by representatives from health groups, Attorney General Betty Montgomery said Wednesday that Ohio would net more from the deal than it possibly could have gained by pursuing a lawsuit against Big Tobacco.
"There's no way we could have gotten the restrictions on advertising and marketing on our own," she said. "Every day we delay, we have more children smoking and kids who are more likely to die."
Cigarette makers have indicated they need a "sufficient" number of states participating for the deal to proceed. If enough states agree, the next question may be how Ohio should spend its $9.9 billion share of the settlement spread out during the next quarter-century.
Many anti-tobacco activists are concerned that the deal failed to include a key provision of the proposed national settlement that died in June: regulation of tobacco by the Food and Drug Administration.
"One thing is certain," Columbus Health Director William C. Myers wrote in a letter to Ms. Montgomery. "The agreement is not a substitute for a national tobacco-control policy and will do little to reduce tobacco use by youth or the prevalence rates in adults."
"We are up against a very savvy industry," said Cincinnati Health Commissioner Malcolm Adcock. "This study suggests that once you close down one marketing strategy, another one comes along."
Lung cancer is the Tristate's No. 1 type of cancer and top cause of cancer death. Smoking causes 87 percent of all lung cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.
Like other states, Ohio's lawsuit against tobacco companies sought to recover the cost of Medicaid-financed treatments for smoking-related illnesses. Those treatments cost the Buckeye State an estimated $600 million in 1993 alone.
The state's first payment from the settlement - $120 million - could arrive before the end of the year. State lawmakers would decide how that money and subsequent annual payments ranging from $323 million to $422 million would be spent.
Noting that Ohio leads the nation in smoking among males and is third among both genders, Ms. Montgomery said she supports a proposal from health groups to use at least one-third of the payments to create and support an anti-smoking foundation.
But Gov.-elect Bob Taft wants some of the money set aside to fix Ohio's crumbling school buildings and to expand health care coverage for uninsured children. The National Taxpayers Union of Ohio argues the money should refunded to taxpayers.
As part of the settlement, tobacco companies would be prevented from selling merchandise with brand-name logos, using tobacco brand names in stadiums and including cartoon characters in promotions.
