Today, the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow called on Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to allocate the $14 million the state is expected to receive through a settlement between e-cigarette maker JUUL and 34 attorneys general, to Kentucky’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Programs under the direction of the Kentucky Department of Health and in partnership with Kentucky’s local health departments.
Close Bills for local control of tobacco haven t even been assigned to committees, though advocates say they would pass on the floor
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News Mar 1, 2021
Mar 1, 2021
With less than two weeks left in the 2021 legislative session, bills to let local governments regulate tobacco products are among the many that legislative leaders haven t even assigned to a committee.
The bills sponsors told Kentucky Health News that they think the bills may have been lost in the shuffle of a short session that has to write a budget amid a pandemic, plus severe weather that cost a week.Â
Nadia Ramlagan | Public News Service
A nivel nacional, más del 21% de los estudiantes en la escuela secundaria y casi el 5% en la escuela secundaria informan que usan cigarrillos electrónicos y vaporizadores. Photo Credit: by ElObservador 02/05/2021
FRANKFORT, Ky. – More than a third of Kentucky middle and high schoolers say the pandemic has increased their use of e-cigarettes or vapes and other tobacco products, according to a recent survey.
The survey of 400 middle and high-school students across 22 counties was conducted in November and December by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, in partnership with Kentucky Youth Advocates.
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, said Abigail Birman, a junior at McCracken County High School in Paducah, many kids were out of school and relied on vaping to pass the time.
Survey Pandemic Increases Vaping Tobacco Use for KY Students / Public News Service publicnewsservice.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from publicnewsservice.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
LOUISVILLE â Abby Hefner, a junior at McCracken County High School, has been named a Healthy Kentucky Policy Champion for her efforts advocating for policies that help prevent youth tobacco use, after first becoming addicted to e-cigarettes as a freshman.
âOnce kicking the habit associated with nicotine addiction, she has become one of the most effective, positive peer forces in advocacy against tobacco,â said Dr. Pat Withrow in nominating Hefner for the award. âShe has carried her message not only locally but throughout the state of Kentucky and nationally.â
The Champion award is given by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky to recognize Kentucky individuals and organizations engaged in improving the health of people in their communities and/or the entire commonwealth through policy change. Withrow is a member of the foundationâs board of directors.