Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Portage County and the state of Ohio. As a community coalition, the PCTPC works toward the health and benefit of the Portage County community.

The PCTPC is an inclusive group of volunteers serving the Portage County community. It is essential that the coalition continually broaden its membership to genuinely represent the community. All who care about Portage County and the issue of tobacco control are welcome to participate in coalition activities, regardless of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, veteran status, handicap, or tobacco use status.

Organizations across the state have received notification from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) that the department will not be able to fulfill the contracts entered into by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention and Control Foundation to provide tobacco prevention and cessation programs, including ours.

Without funding, programs for tobacco prevention in schools, cessation treatment, community coalitions, and programs to help minority and other disproportionately impacted populations will be cut. In addition, hundreds of employees who help keep Ohio’s smoking rates low will lose their jobs.

A recent report shows that without these programs, health care costs will rise, smoking rates will increase, and lives will be lost. At the end of this document is a list of the grant contracts that will not be honored.

Due to the cut, we will be closing up shop at the end of this month (June 2008). We want to thank you for all the support and dedication to us in helping with the quest to abolish all smoking in Portage County, Ohio!

Stand, funded by The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, is a program of the Portage County Tobacco Prevention Coalition that empowers teens to reject tobacco. If a teen or a teen that you know has been effected by tobacco, just don't like it, or simply want to make a difference in saving people's lives from the effects of tobacco, then stand is a the perfect place. Check it out now at standonline.org.

ACS CAN volunteers spoke and, once again, scored an important victory in Congress. On April 3, ACS CAN took another landmark step in its effort for federal regulation of tobacco products and marketing when the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee approved legislation that would put an end to Big Tobacco’s unfettered ability to market its deadly products to children and adults.

All legislatures that attended made remarks on the success of reducing tobacco use and developing healthier communities.  At the breakfast, awards were given to Kent City Schools for adopting a 100% tobacco free district (1st in Portage County), and also an award was given to Bob Morson (owner of Riverside Winery who was the first "restaurant" in Portage County to become tobacco free)