Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a $1.50 per pack cigarette tax increase in his 2025-26 budget, which was released Feb. 3. While local officials and advocates lauded the move, questions remain about whether the revenue from these increases will be used to address Cleveland's smoking problem.
DeWine is proposing to increase the tax from $1.60 to $3.10 per pack. Ohio's cigarette tax rate is currently 29th in the nation, according to a 2024 report by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. The increase, if approved by the legislature, would move Ohio into the top 10 states for cigarette tax rates.
The proposed increase will help drive down Cleveland’s 35% smoking rate, said David Margolius, director of Cleveland Public Health. Cleveland has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation, far above Ohio’s 20% rate and the 11% national average.
“The tax itself is a proven intervention to reduce smoking rates in our community," he said. "The World Health Organization lists an excise tax on cigarettes as the single most important intervention to reduce smoking rates in a community and save lives.”
Tobacco companies target lower income individuals, which makes cost increases on the product particularly effective, Margolius said.
"Cigarette companies exact a huge toll on people in poverty and our community where, unfortunately, due to the addictive nature and the targeted marketing of cigarette companies, you've got people in poverty spending $2,000 to $3,000 a year on cigarettes," he said. "So, you increase the tax and people end up buying fewer cigarettes, they get less cancer and they live longer lives and healthier lives."
The tax increase will also reduce the number of Ohio youth who begin smoking and increase the number of adults who quit, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network concluded in a 2025 report.
The report found that the $1.50 increase would lead to a nearly 11% decline in youth smoking, preventing 11,800 youth from becoming adult smokers. The report also indicates nearly 44,000 adults would quit smoking, while preventing 14,200 premature smoking-related deaths in the state.
While Yvonka Hall, director of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, supports the tax increase, she has questions about how those revenues are being used.
"We have to make sure that if we're making the cost higher, that we also are investing in smoking sensation programs and education programs and other types of things for people who are not able to afford to smoke but have an addiction issue around smoking," she said.
Hall is concerned the funds could be allocated to unrelated projects.
"We should not be doing a tax on tobacco to cover a stadium or children's sports," she said.
While the budget does include a proposed $10 million for smoking cessation and education — an increase from the $7.5 million allocated in the last budget — some of that fund may be allocated toward creating a child tax credit.
The budget must be signed by the end of June.
