A new national report from a coalition of public health organization blasts Ohio for failing to use enough money from the state tobacco settlement to make a difference in preventing kids from smoking.

The report from the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says Ohio is spending less than 5 percent of the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on tobacco prevention programs. That ranks Ohio 45th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in spending on such programs.

Ohio currently spends $7.1 million a year on such programs, while the CDC recommends $145 million a year, according to the report, released on the 10th anniversary of the state tobacco settlement.

Meanwhile, the tobacco industry spends $724 million a year on marketing in Ohio, said the report, which was endorsed by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Ohio is one of the most disappointing states this year when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Other report findings:

• 21.6 percent of Ohio high school students smoke.

• 18,000 more kids become regular smokers every year.

• Tobacco claims 18,600 lives in Ohio each year and costs the state $4.4 billion in health care bills.

The report criticizes Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio Legislature for cutting state funding for tobacco prevention by 85 percent this year.

Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said the governor and the Legislature diverted $230 million from the disbanded Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation to the state's $1.57 billion jobs plan, but also gave $40 million to the state department of health to run anti-tobacco programs.

Dailey said the administration is confident the department of health can do "more with less" than the foundation. "We're in the midst of an economic crisis," Daily said. "The governor's top priority is putting more Ohioans back to work."

But tobacco-addiction expert Dr. Rob Crane, a former board member of the disbanded foundation, bitterly criticized the state plan.

"The experts at the CDC recommend we spend $145 million in protecting Ohio's kids and helping smokers who want to quit stay quit, thereby saving the state of Ohio thousands of lives and billions of dollars," Crane said. "Instead, we're going to spend to around $7 million. Does this make sense to anyone?"

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