“Variety is the spice of life,” so they say. If that is the case, then my workdays are anything but mild.

My official title is senior graphic designer, however, my responsibilities here at the firm entail so much more than that. Here’s a list of everything that comes to mind:

1. Graphic designer
2. Web designer
3. Photographer
4. Art director
5. Video editor
6. Audio editor
7. Copywriter
8. Liaison for vendors
1. Contract Web developers
2. Web hosts
3. Email hosts
4. Printers
9. IT support for the firm
10. Media “expert”
11. Printer repairman
12. Interior decorator

I am often called upon to fix my co-workers computers, email problems or software problems. I troubleshoot IT errors when the network fails. I recently tracked down all of the equipment that we needed for a client media training (including a 50 ft HDMI cable and a high-end HD digital camcorder). I advise on hosting environments and requirements for the firm’s and client’s websites. I advise on office décor. And so much more.

It’s all a part of the fun of working for a small firm and without all of this variety, I think I would go nuts.

What random responsibilities have you encountered in your professional life?

Today we celebrate our one-year anniversary! Over the past year we have changed our name, moved into an office space designed specifically for our staff and continue to add great clients. Thank you to everyone for your support and well wishes. This very successful, progressive year has set the tone for many more to come.

It’s award season for the entertainment industry. Celebrities are being recognized for their artistic performances nearly every weekend with much ado. Other industries do their fair share of gloating, though it’s not as concentrated and occurs throughout the year. The public relations industry has several awards up for grabs, including the local Public Relations Society of America Central Ohio PRism Awards next month. With all of this recognition transpiring it got me thinking  — We need to do a better job of recognizing the everyday achievements of people and from a professional perspective, this means the successes of our colleagues.

Positive reinforcement from time to time helps everyone to stay professionally motivated and gives the acknowledger feel-good endorphins, too.

Ways to Praise

• Compliment a well-written headline
• Show appreciation for the attention to detail someone spent editing copy for your client’s project
• Commend the media coverage that your colleague received
• Mention the creativity of your graphic designer
• Note respect for the extra time a coworker spent at a brainstorm while balancing other priorities

Everyone deserves to be appreciated. Validation of great work performance is beneficial not only for the individual’s morale, but it also benefits the entire staff because the individual is more encouraged to continue to do great work on behalf of the success of the business. Each person at the workplace plays a role to create a winning campaign or execute a noteworthy project, similar to needing lead characters, supporting actors, producers and directors to create a film or CD worthy of an Oscar or Grammy.

It should always be considered award season at the office.

The Columbus Dispatch
By Holly Zachariah

As he ripped apart an old computer server’s battery-backup system, Mike Cotton summed up why he does what he what does.

“We mine the planet to get the stuff to make these electronics, so why shouldn’t we recycle them and use that material again?”

That’s exactly the thinking of his bosses, the people who run Possitivity. It also is why Dublin officials wanted to keep more electronic waste out of landfills. So the Dublin-based company and the city recently reached an agreement to make such recycling easier for Dublin residents.

Possitivity, an e-waste recycler that also has a warehouse on Westbelt Drive on Columbus’ Far West Side, has placed bins in the Dublin Service Center so residents can drop off old gadgets free. The company will take things such as computers, cellphones, power cords, printers, fax machines, telephones, microwaves, clocks and radios — even typewriters. Televisions and computer monitors are not accepted, however.

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio lists six private businesses or organizations where people can drop off e-waste locally, but Dublin officials say they are the first in the area to provide the opportunity on city property.

“People want things to be easy,” said Michelle Crandall, the city’s director of administrative services. “We want to keep people from putting this stuff out with their trash.”

She said the mission of Possitivity made the partnership, which costs the city nothing, an obvious choice. It’s a nonprofit company that hires only people with disabilities.

“What they do there is pretty incredible, and we wanted to see how we could help one another,” Crandall said.

This year, Possitivity expects to process 200 tons of electronic waste. Since the bins were placed at the Dublin Service Center a month ago, residents have dropped off 4,467 pounds of electronics. That nearly equaled what Possitivity used to get from the city in a year during one annual collection event, said Jesse Roberts, Possitivity’s e-waste manager.

Once the materials get to the Westbelt Drive warehouse, five employees dismantle them using hammers, pliers and drills and protecting themselves with safety glasses and heavy gloves. The plastic, copper, aluminum, other metals, wiring and computer boards are all stripped and tossed into separate bins. Eventually, that’s all hauled away to other businesses that smelt it, shred it or do whatever needs to be done to allow reuse.

Cotton, a 39-year-old from Marysville, has held his job for about two years. He said it is fun to be paid for such destruction.

“You have to keep moving as fast as you can and keep going,” he said. “I never get bored.”

The items waiting to be tackled last week included a remote-control race car, an outdated Samsung multi-jet printer and a microwave that seemed only slightly smaller than a Volkswagen Beetle.

Dublin and Upper Arlington schools use Possitivity as a training ground for students with disabilities.

Five permanent employees work at the warehouse, and Roberts hopes to double that within a year. The employees are generally referred from programs run by county boards of developmental disabilities in the area, and they all earn between $8 and $8.50 an hour.

The schedules are flexible, based on each person’s ability, Roberts said. “If someone wants to work two afternoons a week, that’s great. But when they are here those two afternoons, they have to be productive.

“That’s why I love this. It’s a real job, with real pay, and we’re all in it as one. It’s not the bosses at the headquarters in Dublin and ‘the others’ at the warehouse. If Possitivity has a Christmas party, we all have a Christmas party. If a few of us have pizza, we all have pizza.”

And that’s just fine with Cotton: “I love this job.”

Click here to view this story at www.dispatch.com

Let me admit this up front. I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the halftime show. Don’t judge me, I’m guessing that half of the people who watch the game do so to see the commercials.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a football fan and will glue myself to the television or a tailgate for my beloved Buckeyes, but I just don’t have that same passion for a professional team (no offense to the Browns or Bengals).

So, what’s the big deal about these “super” commercials? It has a lot to do with the viewership. According to a survey from the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association conducted by BigInsight, an estimated 173 million people – a record – watched this year’s game. Nearly three-quarters of the viewers say they view the advertisements as entertainment.

The survey found 16.9 percent said that the commercials make them aware of the advertisers’ brand and another 8.4 percent said that the commercials influence them to buy products from advertisers — the best percentage reported in the survey’s history.

Because of the cost of investing in advertising in the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant cultural event.

All of that being said, these are some of my favorites from this year’s Super Bowl:

• Honda – “Matthew’s Day Off”: I’m a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” fan — What more can I say?
• Volkswagen – “The Dog Strikes Back”: You can’t tell me that you didn’t find this dog cute. However, I could have done without the Star Wars bit at the end.
• Dannon Oikos – “The Tease”: What I liked about this was that it didn’t seem to be your typical Super Bowl commercial “event.” It was fun and playful throughout and the ending was just unexpected and gave me a laugh.

Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks? Do you have any favorites/not-so favorites that I didn’t include? What are your thoughts about companies advertising during the Super Bowl? Would you recommend it?

OOGA Addresses Media

FrazierHeiby engaged in issues-management/media-relations efforts to address the reported correlation between recent seismic activity in northeastern Ohio and an injection well used for the disposal of wastewater from oil and gas operations. We provided timely, factual information about the history, use and regulation of injection wells to clarify misinformation by some media outlets. This included aggressive reporter pitching, letters to the editor and arranging editorial-board meetings.

Workspace-Solutions Website

Loth provides interior architecture, furniture and a/v technology solutions and services to clients seeking interconnected, high-performance work spaces that foster efficiency and productivity. To better reflect Loth’s capabilities and modernize its website, FrazierHeiby created a strong portfolio/visual library and educational resources and staff bios Web pages. We also made it more functional with a content management system for easy updating, substantial statistical tracking and more robust social-media features.

AEP Ohio donates to Mid-Ohio Foodbank

During mid-December, as part of its “Partnership With Ohio” program, AEP Ohio donated a total of $500,000 to food banks in its service territory, including the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, which received nearly $300,000 that provided needy central and eastern Ohio residents with 900,000 meals during the holiday season.

FrazierHeiby shared the news with media outlets throughout the state — Read/Watch some of the considerable coverage that was reported.

Delaware Gazette
By Dustin Ensinger

After a cou­ple of tumul­tuous years for the Delaware County Bank in which it dealt with finan­cial losses and branch clo­sures, its finan­cial out­look is improv­ing under new leadership.

Ron Seif­fert, 53, was hired in Sep­tem­ber to become the Bank’s pres­i­dent and CEO, and he has hit the ground run­ning, devel­op­ing a strate­gic plan that is already being implemented.

“I think we’ve got it 99 per­cent right in what we need to focus on,” Seif­fert said of the strate­gic plan. “Now it’s all about exe­cu­tion. You can have a great plan, but if you don’t exe­cute, you’re not going to be a high per­form­ing bank.”

A large part of the plan will focus on small busi­ness. This year, the Bank plans to roll out a suite of check­ing prod­ucts, a new line of credit and a new equip­ment leas­ing prod­uct, all tai­lored toward small businesses.

“Small busi­nesses lead an econ­omy out of a reces­sion,” he said. “We need, as a finan­cial insti­tu­tion, to pro­vide the credit and the ancil­lary ser­vices to enhance the abil­ity of small busi­nesses to grow and get us out of this economy.”

Seif­fert also has his sights set on cre­at­ing three new senior level posi­tions. One would focus on res­i­den­tial mort­gage and direct con­sumer lend­ing and another will serve as chief credit officer.

A third senior posi­tion would be in charge of deposit prod­uct man­age­ment and alter­na­tive deliv­ery sys­tems, includ­ing online, mobile and elec­tronic banking.

“We need to be as com­pet­i­tive as the large banks in web bank­ing,” said Seiffert.
Another com­po­nent of the strate­gic plan is to improve the bank­ing expe­ri­ence inside branches. While the Bank’s cus­tomers already seem to be happy with their expe­ri­ence, Seif­fert said, there is always room for improvement.

“The con­sumer today is very, very busy. They don’t have time to waste,” he said. “We need to con­tinue to take advan­tage of our small­ness — to be more nim­ble, to be more car­ing to our cus­tomer and to be more responsive.”

The Bank plans to announce a major cap­i­tal cam­paign in the very near future to raise funds to pay for the changes that Seif­fert hopes to fully imple­ment by year’s end.
After work­ing in the bank­ing indus­try for 25 years, Seif­fert believes that goal is very possible.

Seif­fert began his bank­ing career at Hunt­ing­ton Bank, where he spent 23 years, five of which he served as vice chair­man. He left Hunt­ing­ton to become exec­u­tive vice pres­i­dent and national head of busi­ness bank­ing for Bank One Cor­po­ra­tion, which has since been pur­chased by JP Mor­gan Chase.

“After 25 years in bank­ing I thought, ‘Maybe I need a break,’” he said.

From there, Seif­fert moved on to Ohio Domini­can Uni­ver­sity where he served as chief finan­cial offi­cer and vice pres­i­dent of uni­ver­sity resources. While he enjoyed his five years at the uni­ver­sity, he jumped at the chance to lead the Bank when he learned of the oppor­tu­nity, he said.

“I always wanted to get back into the finan­cial ser­vices indus­try, but I did not want to get back into big bank­ing — the bureau­cracy, the pol­i­tics and so forth. Been there, done that and didn’t want to go back to it,” he said.

“Delaware County Bank is big enough to have the req­ui­site prod­ucts and ser­vices that allow us to be com­pet­i­tive in tar­geted mar­ket seg­ments but yet small enough to still be nim­ble and cus­tomer oriented.”

But it wasn’t only the Bank’s rel­a­tively small size that attracted Seif­fert. He was also intrigued by the loy­alty to the Bank he found among cus­tomers, share­hold­ers and com­mu­nity members.

“They really gen­uinely, sin­cerely want us to win. This com­mu­nity wants us to win,” he said. “Our share­hold­ers want us to win and our cus­tomers want us to win. That’s what you get when you have a com­mu­nity bank embraced by the community.”

Seif­fert, who has a wife and three daugh­ters, was one of five can­di­dates that inter­viewed for the posi­tion. His resume and bank­ing expe­ri­ence was cer­tainly a plus, but so was the fact that he was out of the indus­try at the time that it nearly col­lapsed, said board mem­ber Don­ald Wolf, who was also part of the selec­tion committee.

“As you talked with him you just imme­di­ately liked him, respected him, respected his knowl­edge,” said Wolf. “He just han­dles him­self extremely effectively.”

The Bank’s prob­lem loans port­fo­lio, net finan­cial losses and loan delin­quen­cies were all down in 2011 com­pared with the 2010 numbers.

In 2010, the Bank lost $12.3 mil­lion. Last year, it lost just $2.5 mil­lion. Loan delin­quen­cies in 2011 were down to 2.24 per­cent, com­pared with the 4.01 per­cent delin­quency rate recorded in 2010.

Seif­fert plans to keep the momen­tum going through the rest of 2012 and into 2013.
“We’re back,” he said. “We’re back in a healthy way and we’re here to win in Delaware County.”

I had never heard the term “bucket list” until the movie “The Bucket List” was released in 2008 starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. What a great concept – making a list of things you want to experience before you die. I began to think about my bucket list and making mental notes as to what I want to experience before I depart this earthly plane.

Now, my list is not long at all at this point but it does include a few fun ideas that, until recently, I thought were out of my grasp.

Visiting Australia. I have wanted to go to Australia since I became pen pals with an Australian girl named Cathy when I was in the fifth grade. Cathy and I maintained a writing relationship for many years but lost track of each other as we moved into life after college. With the Internet, Cathy was able to find me and we resumed our friendship – this time online. That is when I began to really think about saving money and planning for a trip to Australia. I even have a bucket list specifically for my trip – holding a koala bear and visiting Ares Rock.

Visiting Egypt. So, now that I have been bit by the travel bug, I really am viewing the world as my oyster. Where do I want to go? I have been fascinated by Egypt for a long time. So, it is on the list.

Owning a convertible. Again, something I hadn’t really considered until I started to develop my bucket list.

As I thought more about my bucket list and my New Year’s resolutions, I started to think about developing a bucket list for my professional life. Instead of listing my professional aspirations (which seems “cold” and “must-do”), I began to create a “professional bucket list.” In my mind, reframing my career goals as a bucket list helps me to embrace these items more than a cold list of goals. My professional bucket list includes:

Obtaining my Accredited in Public Relations (APR). No explanation needed.

Learning to be a better manager. Not sure what this means for me (and more importantly, for those around me) but I am exploring this to add more concrete items to my professional bucket list.

Learning more about today’s business climate and how it impacts our clients. Having a solid understanding of what is occuring throughout the world today will make me a better strategic counselor for our clients.

Do you have a personal and/or professional bucket list? If not, you might want to make some time to give it some thought. Time moves quickly (way too quickly) and it is too easy to get caught up in day-to-day living. Treat yourself right, establish a bucket list and make plans to start experiencing your dreams. If you have trouble starting your bucket list, you might get some ideas from this website.

Standing on an oil and gas rig tucked into the rolling green farmland east of Canton not long ago, I had to stop and ask myself  —“Wow! How did I get here?”

This experience got me thinking about the twists and turns my career has taken throughout the years — from an internal communications coordinator in health care to a fast-food-restaurant-chain spokeswoman to the hydraulic-fracturing expert at FrazierHeiby. What a long, strange trip indeed!

When I graduated from The Ohio State University with my bachelor’s in journalism, I didn’t have a clue of what to do next. So, I packed my bags, said goodbye to my hometown of Columbus and hit the road. My destination? Beautiful San Diego, California — land of sun, sand, beaches and perpetual flip-flops.

When I got to the Golden State, I pounded the pavement and began knocking on the door of every PR firm and corporate office I could find. After a couple of internships (more like indentured servitude) I got my first big break as an internal communications coordinator for a large hospital group where I spent two years churning out newsletters.

Hungry for more, I went to work for a real clown — “Jack,” the head of the Jack in the Box restaurant chain. I spent 10 happy years with Jack and gained valuable knowledge about food safety, marketing and media relations.

But after the birth of my daughter nearly three years ago, coming back to Ohio for my family seemed like the right thing to do.  It didn’t hurt that the economy in central Ohio was a bit stronger than in California, which was teetering on the brink (California was broke and we voted for a bullet train. Really?).

After moving my native-Californian husband and baby girl back to the Buckeye State, I balanced caring for my daughter with freelance writing gigs. Though I loved the flexibility (i.e., shower-optional days, afternoon naps and wearing yoga pants to work) of working for myself, I missed the action and camaraderie you can only get with a full-time job. So here I am at FrazierHeiby.

I’ve had an interesting career. I’ve worked with some amazing people, seen lots of stuff (including a taco factory in Kansas) and have learned so much. It just goes to show that you never know where your career will take you. Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

American Lung Association – Tobacco Grade
5PM News on WCMH-TV4 | Columbus, Ohio | 1-19-12

New report gives Ohio an ‘F’ for spending on smoking prevention
FOX19 | Cincinnati, Ohio

Tobacco Use
WTVN-610AM |Columbus, Ohio | 1-19-12

Smoking
WTAM-AM | Cleveland, Ohio | 1-19-12

Ohio lagging in fight against cigarette smoking, American Lung Association says
The Plain Dealer | Cleveland, Ohio

Report: Ohio failing in tobacco control
The Columbus Dispatch | Columbus, Ohio

Smoking costs Ohio $9.2 billion as health care costs rise, report says
Dayton Daily News | Dayton, Ohio

Ohio earns failing grades for tobacco-control efforts
Akron Beacon Journal Online | Akron, Ohio

Ohio loses ground in tobacco fight
Toledo Blade | Toledo, Ohio

Lung association flunks Ohio anti-smoking efforts
Vindy.com | Youngstown, Ohio

Lung association flunks Ohio anti-smoking efforts
Dayton Daily News | Dayton, Ohio

Foes of smoking find Ohio’s meager prevention funding a drag: editorial
The Plain Dealer | Cleveland, Ohio

American Lung Association – Tobacco Grade

5PM News on WCMH-TV4 | Columbus, Ohio | 1-19-12

New report gives Ohio an ‘F’ for spending on smoking prevention

Posted: Jan 19, 2012 6:55 PM EST Updated: Jan 20, 2012 6:31 AM EST
By Gordon Graham

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

A new report out from the American Lung Association gives Ohio an “F” for smoking prevention spending, worse than every other state except for New Jersey. Ohio has the 6th highest smoking rate in the nation at 22.5%.
The CDC says smoking costs Ohio more than $9 billion in medical expenses and premature deaths.

Ashley Auciello with the Cincinnati Health Department says there is a correlation between the number of smokers and how much the government spends to get people to stop.

“It’s unfortunate that you see the smoking rates rise in Ohio while in the rest of the nation they’re falling and that’s a direct result of losing funding,” she said.

FOX19 asked some smokers if getting people to quit is the government’s responsibility.

“I do not believe it’s the government’s responsibility at all. It’s every individual’s responsibility whether you smoke or not,” said David Krikorian.

The American Lung Association says over the past several years the state of Ohio has spent up to $53 million a year on smoking cessation and prevention, but in 2010 the amount went down to zero.

Dennis Rahe is a former smoker who says funding for anti-smoking programs has been adequate.

“They’re spending enough money to tell people they shouldn’t smoke cigarettes,” he said. “Most people are over 18, 20 years old…they know that they shouldn’t smoke. If they want to smoke and ruin themselves…that’s their decision.”

Brian Bailey is a smoker who says people have a right to smoke.

“I guess the people that don’t want us smoking [are] saying that we’re not doing enough to stop this, but isn’t that our right to smoke,” he said.

Sonia Little has been trying to quit and says the government should stay out of it.

“I think the government needs to mind their own business,” she said. “I mean we’re all adults…if we want to smoke, we’re going to smoke. If we don’t want to, we shouldn’t.”

In Kentucky, with one of the highest rates of smoking in the nation, funding for anti-smoking programs has remained about the same over the past few years while the number of smokers has begun to decline.

To view this story on the ohio.com website, click here.

Tobacco Use

WTVN-610AM |Columbus, Ohio | 1-19-12

Download MP3 file

Smoking

WTAM-AM | Cleveland, Ohio | 1-19-12

Download MP3 file

Ohio lagging in fight against cigarette smoking, American Lung Association says

Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 6:00 AM
Ellen Kleinerman, The Plain Dealer By Ellen Kleinerman, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio, for the third year in a row, received failing grades on the annual American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control report released today in the areas of cessation coverage and tobacco prevention spending.

The Lung Association report said 2011 was an abysmal year for tobacco control measures at the state level, with no states passing smoke-free laws and only two approving cigarette tax increases. Ohio stood out for another reason.

“Ohio is one of the few states in the country not investing [any of its own money] into tobacco prevention,” said Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy in Ohio for the Lung Association.

According to the Lung Association’s report, smoking costs Ohio $9 billion annually. More than 5,900 people die each year from lung cancer, and 4,900 from other respiratory diseases linked to smoking.

Currently, federal money and the leftover dollars from the tobacco company’s Master Settlement are funding the few anti-smoking efforts that remain in Ohio.

The legislature directed the Ohio health department to use $2 million of the leftover Master Settlement money over the next two fiscal years, which began in July, to enforce the state’s smoke-free workplace law.

This allocation earned Ohio an “A” in the smokefree air section of the lung association’s report card.

“Our smokefree law is very powerful,” said Terry Allan who heads the Cuyahoga County health department. “But we know from looking at other states that this law needs to be complemented by other efforts that include peer-to-peer education, counter marketing and the promotion of smoke-free schools.”

Ohio’s smoking rate has climbed steadily as the amount of money spent on cessation, education and advertising declined, Allan said.

The state spent around $6 million in anti-smoking programs in 2009 when the smoking rate was 20.1 percent and spent no money last fiscal year when the smoking rate was 22.5 percent.

This increase in smoking rate is contrary to the national trend, Kiser said. “Last year, smoking rates in the U.S. went down to 17.3 percent and Ohio’s went up.”

Kiser said Ohio gets about $1 billion annually from cigarette taxes and has not spent one penny on cessation or prevention programs.

The tax rate on cigarettes in Ohio is $1.25 per pack making the total cost around $6.22. Yet, every pack of cigarettes sold costs $9.19 in related health-care costs to businesses and the state, Kiser said.

The Lung Association wants Ohio lawmakers to increase cigarette taxes by another $1.25 a pack to generate $347 million annually for new programs.

Kiser said that anti-smoking ads and tobacco taxes grab the public’s attention and trigger spikes in calls to cessation programs such as Ohio’s Quit Line. Taxes and ads are especially effective in reducing smoking rates for youths and low-income populations, she said. That’s important, she said, because the smoking rate of Medicaid recipients is twice the state average and Ohio Medicaid spends about $1.4 billion annually to treat smoking related disorders.

“The important thing is that we need money for tobacco prevention and cessation. In the past, these programs have been incredibly successful,” Kiser said.

But the Quit Line, created in 2003 with Master Settlement money, has been struggling to stay alive since it no longer has money from that fund.

Mari-jean Siehl, chief of the Healthy Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation program, said the Quit Line has depended on the Master Settlement money and never has received funding from state coffers.

Her program had about $2 million left in its account, but the legislature said it had to be used to enforce the smokefree workplace law.

The Quit Line is now running on federal dollars, Siehl said, with only $320,000 left for this fiscal year , which should last only a few more months.

The Quit Line, once free to anyone who picked up the phone, has been limited to pregnant women, people who are uninsured and Medicaid recipients.

Siehl said the Quit Line’s monthly costs are between $25,000 and $40,000, depending on the number of calls. Callers who qualify can receive five phone counseling sessions and free nicotine patches.

Siehl is hoping that more federal money will become available. In the meantime, health officials have expanded the service by enlisting insurers for public employees and private companies, who now offer and pay for the benefit to their subscribers. This adds up to about 2.63 million Ohioans with access to the Quit Line. There are 8.8 million adults in the state.

The state is also making a list to put on its website of other free and low-cost cessation programs.

And Siehl said her office is working to launch a media campaign later this year called “What’s One More Cigarette? — if it can come up with federal funding.

Allan said raising awareness through education and advertising worked in Cuyahoga County in years past when it was getting more money from the state. Right now, he said, the county has only about $10,000 in federal funds for a tobacco-free school program in East Cleveland and Euclid.

“We have quite a bit of work to do in this country,” Allan said, “considering that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.”

To view this story on the Plain Dealer website, click here.

Report: Ohio failing in tobacco control

By Misti Crane
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday January 19, 2012 4:08 AM

If you brought home grades like this, your mom would have been as angry as if she’d found a pack of cigarettes in your book bag.

Ohio once again brought home two F’s, a D and an A in the American Lung Association’s annual report on tobacco control. The state got the same grades last year.

Advocates who work to lower smoking rates have decried efforts in Ohio since 2008, when then-Gov. Ted Strickland and lawmakers took most of the state’s Tobacco Prevention Foundation money to use for other things. The rest has either been spent or allocated for enforcement of the state’s smoking ban, the only thing for which Ohio received an A in this year’s Lung Association report.

Ohio’s failing grades were for money spent on tobacco prevention and control and for smoking-cessation coverage. The future of the state’s quit line is in serious jeopardy, although Mari-jean Siehl, chief of the state’s tobacco-use prevention and cessation program, said last week that she’s trying to salvage it.

The association gave Ohio a D for its $1.25 cigarette tax.

Most states did a poor job, according to the report, the association’s 10th.

“When states give up any ground in this battle, the tobacco industry quickly jumps in to fill the void,” said Charles Connor, president and CEO of the Lung Association.

The report includes commendations for the federal government, which last year began to offer benefits covering stop-smoking efforts for employees and their families. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will partially reimburse states for counseling services for Medicaid enrollees.

The administration, however, missed an opportunity when it gave states the ability to decide whether stop-smoking benefits would be included in their state insurance exchange starting in 2014, said Erika Sward, the association’s director of national advocacy.

To view this story on the The Columbus Dispatch website, click here.

Smoking costs Ohio $9.2 billion as health care costs rise, report says

Lack of prevention efforts raises health care costs, Lung Association says.

By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer

Ohio is failing to curtail tobacco use and help users quit, lapses that are driving up health care costs for businesses and taxpayers while costing the state at least $9.2 billion annually, the American Lung Association says in a new report out today.

Ohio received an “F” for spending just 2.1 percent of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for tobacco prevention and control, worse than any state except for New Jersey, which spent 1.9 percent of the CDC recommendation, the association said. The state also received an “F” for providing inadequate cessation coverage through Medicaid, its own health plans for workers and a quit line.

Meanwhile, Ohio’s adult smoking rate rose in 2010 to 22.5 percent, sixth highest in the nation. And 42 percent of Ohio’s Medicaid users smoke, said Shelly Kiser of the American Lung Association in Ohio. Tobacco-related illnesses have swelled expenses for the state’s Medicaid program, which accounts for about 30 percent of Ohio’s general operating spending.

“The state has really fallen down on the job,” Kiser said.

The association cited CDC data that showed smoking cost Ohio an estimated $4.4 billion in medical costs, another $1.4 billion in Medicaid expenses, and $4.7 billion in lost productivity from premature death. The net cost to the state is estimated at more than $9 billion.

In fiscal 2010, tobacco users in the state paid about $887 million in net taxes, according to the state Department of Taxation — money that was designated for purposes other than combating tobacco usage. Kiser said Ohio could reduce tobacco usage by setting aside 5 percent of those tax receipts for tobacco prevention and cessation, or by taxing tobacco products other than cigarettes at the same rate at which cigarettes are taxed.

Large budget shortfalls in recent years have forced the state to make difficult decisions related to tobacco control, said Mari-jean Siehl, chief of the state’s tobacco use prevention and cessation program. She acknowledged the state later this year could run out of federal funding for its quit line, which is used by the uninsured, Medicaid recipients and pregnant women. The state has applied for some additional funding, she said.

Ohio is trying to keep the frameworks for programs in place so they can be ramped back up when more funding is available, Siehl said. The state is also promoting smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing and school-sponsored events that are not held in schools, which are already tobacco-free.

The news for Ohio was not all bad. The state was one of 24 that received an “A” for its smoke-free law.

Lisa Zumstein, sanitarian program specialist with the state Department of Health’s indoor environment program, said Ohio’s smoke-free law is very strong, and said the public overall is happy with the law.

“By having this strong law that prohibits smoking in workplaces and public buildings, most people are not being exposed to second-hand smoke,” she said.

The report card also gave Ohio a “D” for levying a $1.25 tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes.

The association assigned passing grades in all four categories to only four states: Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and Oklahoma.

To view this story on the Dayton Daily News website, click here.

Ohio earns failing grades for tobacco-control efforts

Published: January 19, 2012 – 10:49 PM

Ohio earned failing grades in a new national report released Thursday that grades each state’s efforts to curb tobacco use.

The American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2012 gives Ohio “Fs” for its tobacco prevention and control spending and tobacco-cessation coverage. The state also fared poorly in the cigarette tax category, earning a “D.”

The state did earn top honors, however, for its efforts to go smoke-free.

In its report, the American Lung Association pointed out the state reduced funding for its Quitline last year so only pregnant women, uninsured residents and people who have the service covered by Medicaid or a private insurance program can participate, according to the American Lung Association report.

“The enormity of the challenge facing us requires combined resources at both the state and federal levels,” Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association’s Ohio chapter, said in a news release. “Failure isn’t an option because our end goal is removing tobacco’s chokehold on Ohioans’ health and that’s the life-and-death matter.”

— CHERYL POWELL

To view this story on the ohio.com website, click here.

Ohio loses ground in tobacco fight

Poor marks from lung association lead to renewed calls for tax hike

BY JIM PROVANCE, BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS — Once a national leader in the battle against tobacco, Ohio has surrendered some of its hard-fought gains, anti-smoking activists argued Thursday.

In the wake of a poor report card from the American Lung Association, Ohio activists renewed their call for hikes in tobacco-related taxes to fund smoking cessation programs and to keep the toll-free, state-run Quitline in operation.

In last year’s budget, state lawmakers continued funding for enforcement of the voter-approved ban on smoking at bars, restaurants, offices, and other indoor public venues.

But funding for cessation programs disappeared once the Ohio Supreme Court ruled two years ago that the state could seize tobacco settlement funds from a foundation it created and use the money for other purposes.

“Last year, we were on life support,” said Shelly Kiser, advocacy director of the American Lung Association in Ohio. “This year, lawmakers pulled the plug.”

As the state turns its focus more toward prevention under its rethinking of Medicaid, advocates are hoping the concept can include greater emphasis on smoking prevention and cessation.

They are asking the state to increase the cigarette tax, which raises more than $1 billion a year for the state coffers, or raise the tax on cigars, chewing tobacco, and other noncigarette products to equal that on cigarettes.

Absent that, they hope lawmakers would consider dedicating 5 percent of the existing cigarette tax to anti-smoking efforts.

Tax increases, however, have been a nonstarter in the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Mr. Kasich and lawmakers are planning to do a midcycle look this year at the state’s $55.8 billion, two-year budget enacted last year.

“We’ve lost a lot of funding,” said Stu Kerr, tobacco program coordinator with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. “We’ve got to get that funding back because clearly the state takes in money from the sale of tobacco, but the state down the road pays out hospital costs, which are horrendous.”

In a report released Thursday, the American Lung Association graded Ohio “F” for tobacco cessation efforts, “D” for tobacco taxation, and “F” for insurance coverage of smoking cessation programs.

The one bright spot was Ohio’s grade of “A” for its indoor smoking law. But even that is in question given a case pending before the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the law’s constitutionality and its enforcement.

Tess Pollick, spokesman for the Department of Health, said the state might be able to drag out its federal grant funding the Quitline because call volume has been lower recently. It is also applying for another grant.

The current budget holds $1 million for enforcement of the smoking ban.

“It’s important to look at the whole picture of tobacco,” Ms. Pollick said. “The Quitline is a wonderful tool, but we’re also getting at other factors. People smoke when they get stressed by a tough economy and a loss of a job, and that’s also being addressed. We approach it with a holistic approach to identify the factors that cause smoking and the tools to help people quit.”

To view this story on the Toledo Blade’s website, click here.

Lung association flunks Ohio anti-smoking efforts

Published: Fri, January 20, 2012 @ 9:53 a.m.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio has received two failing grades in an annual report card on what the states are doing to control smoking.

The American Lung Association has given Ohio “F”s for the amount of money it spends to prevent smoking and for its coverage of programs to help people quit. The state also earned a “D” for its cigarette tax.

However, the group gave Ohio an “A” for smoke-free air. The state has had a ban on smoking in most indoor public places since 2007.

The lung association faults Ohio for cutting funding last year for anti-smoking programs, including the state’s tobacco Quit Line. It had to limit its free service to certain groups, including pregnant women.

Only four states — Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and Oklahoma — received all passing grades.

To view this story on the Vindy.com website, click here.

Lung association flunks Ohio anti-smoking efforts

The Associated Press 6:21 AM Friday, January 20, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has received two failing grades in an annual report card on what the states are doing to control smoking.

The American Lung Association has given Ohio “F”s for the amount of money it spends to prevent smoking and for its coverage of programs to help people quit. The state also earned a “D” for its cigarette tax.

However, the group gave Ohio an “A” for smoke-free air. The state has had a ban on smoking in most indoor public places since 2007.

The lung association faults Ohio for cutting funding last year for anti-smoking programs, including the state’s tobacco Quit Line. It had to limit its free service to certain groups, including pregnant women.

Only four states — Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and Oklahoma — received all passing grades.

To view this story on the Dayton Daily News website, click here.

Foes of smoking find Ohio’s meager prevention funding a drag: editorial

Published: Friday, January 20, 2012, 8:32 PM
By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

Ohio’s horrendously low grades for the third year in a row for failing to prevent smoking ought to light a fire under this slacker state. Smoking drives up medical costs for everybody and is one factor behind the state’s rising Medicaid bill.

More than 40 percent of Medicaid recipients are smokers, according to the American Lung Association, which calculates that treating patients with smoking-related diseases costs the state about $9 billion annually.

In its annual State of Tobacco Control Report, the association gives Ohio an “F” for smoking prevention because, while smoking rates are higher here than in the United States as a whole, Ohio spends no state money on effective prevention efforts.

Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy in Ohio for the lung association, says a $6.20 pack of cigarettes creates $9.19 in health care costs.

One way to keep new smokers from joining the pack and help longtime smokers quit is something this page has called for before: Raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, many of which are taxed at an inexplicably low rate.

Because Ohio diverted money from its tobacco prevention efforts to fill budget gaps, smokers who want to quit have few places to turn for help. The Ohio Tobacco Quit Line is open for now, but it’s running out of money (the state is applying for a federal grant) and its services are limited to Medicaid recipients, the uninsured and pregnant women.

Ohio ought to be proud of the “A” it earned from the lung association for its statewide ban on smoking indoors, which makes dining out a breath of fresh air. The legislature recently boosted enforcement by granting the Ohio Department of Health $1 million for each of the next two fiscal years, starting July 1, 2011.

But Ohio lawmakers ought to be ashamed of their failure to fund smoking cessation in the face of rising smoking rates. New taxes just on cigarettes would raise $347 million a year to support anti-smoking measures, the Quit Line and more, according to Kiser.

Think of it as a user fee levied on those who need it most.

To view this story on the Plain Dealer’s website, click here.