Health News
The Kentucky Department for Public Health is launching a new campaign to educate Kentuckians about the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke and its potential effect. The campaign is funded by $281,000 from the economic stimulus package of 2009 and about $90,000 from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This week the department will start running television, billboard and radio advertisements to show the dangers of smoke that comes from the burning end of cigarette, cigar or pipe or the exhaled smoke from a smoker. The ads, which will run statewide, highlight the link between secondhand smoke and dangerous illnesses in both adults and children.
The ads, produced by Louisville-based Doe-Anderson, feature people being unwillingly exposed to secondhand smoke in places such as residences and cars. Each ad carries the tag line, ?Secondhand smoke is 100 percent unsafe, 100 percent of the time.?
Kentucky?s smoking rate remains the second highest in the country, with 24.8 percent of the adult population identified as current smokers, and secondhand smoke exposure is equally high. The health department says 39.5 percent of Kentucky children live with someone who smokes ? the highest percentage in the country. Secondhand smoke has become a major public health concern because it contains approximately 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known carcinogens, and is responsible for approximately 3,000 cases of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers each year.
The campaign is another project of the Kentucky Tobacco Prevention and Cessation program. Community interventions for tobacco cessation are available through local health departments staffed with tobacco control specialists, and the program operates a toll-free telephone line, 1-800-QUIT NOW. It also provides technical assistance, with the Kentucky Center for Smoke Free Policy at the University of Kentucky, to assist communities in seeking smoke-free ordinances.
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- Statewide Smoking Ban Proposed In Legislature
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Health News
State health department starts new ad campaign against secondhand smoke, including three 15-second TV commercials
The Kentucky Department for Public Health is launching a new campaign to educate Kentuckians about the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke and its potential effect. The campaign is funded by $281,000 from the economic stimulus package of 2009 and about $90,000 from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This week the department will start running television, billboard and radio advertisements to show the dangers of smoke that comes from the burning end of cigarette, cigar or pipe or the exhaled smoke from a smoker. The ads, which will run statewide, highlight the link between secondhand smoke and dangerous illnesses in both adults and children.
The ads, produced by Louisville-based Doe-Anderson, feature people being unwillingly exposed to secondhand smoke in places such as residences and cars. Each ad carries the tag line, ?Secondhand smoke is 100 percent unsafe, 100 percent of the time.?
Kentucky?s smoking rate remains the second highest in the country, with 24.8 percent of the adult population identified as current smokers, and secondhand smoke exposure is equally high. The health department says 39.5 percent of Kentucky children live with someone who smokes ? the highest percentage in the country. Secondhand smoke has become a major public health concern because it contains approximately 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known carcinogens, and is responsible for approximately 3,000 cases of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers each year.
The campaign is another project of the Kentucky Tobacco Prevention and Cessation program. Community interventions for tobacco cessation are available through local health departments staffed with tobacco control specialists, and the program operates a toll-free telephone line, 1-800-QUIT NOW. It also provides technical assistance, with the Kentucky Center for Smoke Free Policy at the University of Kentucky, to assist communities in seeking smoke-free ordinances.
- Anthem Gives $140,000 For 3-county Program To Cut Smoking By Pregnant Women, Still At 21.9% In Ky., Among Highest In U.s.
Health departments in Christian, Hopkins and Madison counties will start a program called Giving Infants and Families Tobacco Free Starts, with a $140,000 grant to the state health department from the Anthem Foundation. The GIFTS program was created to...
- Opinion: Toward A Healthier Kentucky, With A Smoke-free Law
By the Friedell Committee for Health System Transformation It is no secret that Kentucky is among the unhealthiest states in our country. Kentucky is No. 7 in cardiovascular deaths, No. 1 in cancer deaths, No. 1 in lung cancer, and No. 13 in...
- Kentucky Hospital Association Backs State Smoking Ban
The Kentucky Hospital Association on Thursday reiterated its support of smoke-free workplaces and public places throughout the state in hopes that 2015 will be the year that legislators pass a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed spaces. ?Kentucky hospitals...
- Study Estimates That Secondhand Smoke Kills 42,000 Americans A Year, And 900 Of Those Are Babies
More bad news for smokers and those who love them: A report out this week in the American Journal of Public Health says secondhand smoke is accountable for 42,000 deaths of non-smokers each year in the U.S., including nearly 900 infants. Kentucky likely...
- Statewide Smoking Ban Proposed In Legislature
State Rep. Susan Westrom of Lexington, left, announced her intent to file a bill today that calls for a statewide smoking ban, which would prohibit cigarette use in workplaces, restaurants, bars and private clubs. The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar...