“It's hard to sell on public health grounds,” DeWine said in an interview ahead of Wednesday's State of the State address. “Everyone wants to see their kids get better. …Rather than talk about building what some people see as a bureaucracy that interferes with my life, It’s easier to convince them of that.”
second term Governors struggle to enact key pieces of public health Agenda with ultra-conservative Congress blocking his efforts, details Last year, the Washington Post investigated how red state politics are costing Americans years of life.
DeWine said the paper's findings detailed the state's alarming statistics from a human perspective. Approximately 1 in 5 Ohioans will die before reaching the age of 65, which is approximately the life expectancy of an Ohio resident. Slovakia and Ecuador are relatively poor countries.
DeWine said he has directed his Cabinet members to read the Post's coverage of life expectancy as part of his efforts to make improving the life expectancy of his constituents a central issue in his remaining years as governor. He also met with former state health director Amy Acton and asked how to treat it. He could improve Ohio State's health, Acton said. He has emerged as a Democratic candidate for statewide office.
Appearing in the state legislature on Wednesday Mr. DeWine used rhetoric that emphasized traditional conservative values to announce initiatives aimed at improving the lives of Ohio's children.
“The most important thing we can do for the future of Ohio is to give every child in Ohio, no matter where they live or who their parents are, the gift that God has given them.” “It's about making sure that you have the opportunity to live the life you've been given to the fullest. It's possible,” he said.
he was promoted Safe sleep for young children, early education, mental health care, poison control, and gun violence prevention. He touted efforts to set up clinics in Appalachian schools. he emphasized the pilot A program in which nurses make home visits to support new mothers.
proposed He said he has introduced a bill that would ban flavored e-cigarettes and cigarettes that tobacco companies use to trick children. He continued to advocate for stricter seat belt regulations. The newspaper previously detailed tobacco and motor vehicle deaths as preventable causes of delayed life expectancy in Ohio.
And he did all that without mentioning two words: public health.
Republican lawmakers have previously blocked Mr. DeWine's attempts to tighten the state's seat belt laws, a measure that public health experts say would save lives. DeWine himself lost his daughter Becky in a car accident more than 30 years ago.
Last fall, the bill he sponsored became law. A law that took years to crack down on distracted driving goes into effect, and police Call the driver over to use your cell phone.
Since then, preliminary data shows the number of distracted driving arrests has more than doubled and distracted driving-related accidents have decreased significantly, said Lt. Ray Santiago, a spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. It has been shown that
As a result, distraction-related fatalities decreased by 20% compared to 2022.
“We've had immediate success,” Santiago said.
DeWine is building on efforts in 35 states to codify the ability of Ohio state troopers to pull over drivers who are not wearing seatbelts. More than 500 Ohioans who die in car crashes each year are not wearing seat belts.
“That's why I come to you with a proposal to save the lives of young people and adults through the Seat Belt Basic Act,” DeWine told lawmakers Wednesday. “We know it works. It's a life-saving vote.”
ohio's The deeply conservative Congress has fought Mr. DeWine's attempts to reduce tobacco use, including by limiting the powers of local governments. Preemptive efforts to ban flavored e-cigarettes and increase tobacco taxes. Approximately one in five adults in Ohio smoke, one of the highest smoking rates in the nation.
DeWine encouraged the Biden administration to take action toward a nationwide menthol ban. Experts claim this could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths in the country. Predominantly black community. The ban was originally expected last year but was delayed due to political pressure and warnings it could alienate some of President Biden's black supporters ahead of the election, White House officials said.
Mr. DeWine recently told the Post that he knows how to make political calculations. Increasing tobacco taxes is a proven public health effort to reduce smoking-related deaths. But he said in a speech Wednesday that he would try to pass a ban on e-cigarettes and tobacco flavors in other ways.
“We have a duty to protect Ohio's children, and we have the ability to do so,” he said.
governor She also used this speech as a platform for children to access health care. Care, schools and a brighter economic future – essential efforts to extend their life expectancy, he told the Post.
The investment may not pay off during his political lifetime, he said, but it will change the lives of future generations.
“You can sometimes talk about Congress overriding the veto, you can talk about them not wanting to pass a tobacco tax, but the truth is that almost all of these children's programs, I mean, they gave me money and asked for it,'' he told the Post.
Dan Diamond contributed to this report.
