Tobacco092601 - Oklahoma State Department of Health

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News Memo

For Release: September 26, 2001
Contact: Leslea Bennett-Webb, OK State Dept. of Health, 405/271-5601
Carol Bush, Tulsa City-County Health Dept., 595-4403

What:	Joint news conference to announce an unprecedented partnership among Oklahoma’s leaders in health, social services and enforcement – and their public and private constituencies – to address Oklahoma’s single most preventable cause of death: tobacco addiction.
Date/Time:	Monday, October 1, 2 p.m.
Location:	Tulsa City-County Health Department East Regional Health Center -- Auditorium 5051 S. 129th East Avenue
Featuring:	Gary Cox, JD Director, Tulsa City-County Health Department Leslie M. Beitsch, MD, JD Commissioner, Oklahoma State Department of Health Terry L. Cline, Ph.D. Commissioner, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Mike Fogarty, MSW, JD Chief Executive Officer, Oklahoma Health Care Authority Gary Davidson Director, Oklahoma ABLE Commission Paul Murphy Chief Operating Officer, American Cancer Society, Heartland Division Melanie Mayes-Tyler, Manager, MATCH Project

Background: As a state, Oklahoma’s health ranking is dismal: 44th in the nation. The sobering reality is that tobacco use is the key issue that makes Oklahoma a less healthy place to live.

The implications for our economy and the future health of our young people are dramatic. Many Oklahomans mistakenly believe that with the creation of the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund, adequate programs are now being funded to discourage our youth from using tobacco products and to help individuals who do smoke or chew to quit. The truth is that it may be more than 10 years before enough money has accumulated in the trust fund to adequately address Oklahoma’s tobacco use problem. By that time, thousands more Oklahomans will have died unnecessarily from their tobacco addiction and thousands more of our youth will become addicted to tobacco.

Although many coalitions, committees and task forces have made recommendations to address Oklahoma’s tobacco problem, the result has been only minimal change in public policy and program investment to discourage tobacco use and reduce its addiction. In this joint news conference, state leaders, joined by numerous public and private partners, will recommend four key proposals to overcome the tobacco stalemate and improve the state of Oklahoma’s health. In addition, staff from the Tulsa City-County Health Department will discuss how their tobacco demonstration project called MATCH, or Mobilizing Against Tobacco Companies Hype, is working to make change happen at the local level.

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