• Home

Bernd Meier

Home community journalism health journalism journalism newspapers rural journalism smoking bans tobacco tobacco prevention Harrodsburg Herald, a weekly newspaper, does three-part series on tobacco issues in Mercer County and statewide

Harrodsburg Herald, a weekly newspaper, does three-part series on tobacco issues in Mercer County and statewide

Written by Unknown on 8:32 PM ,
In a state where more than one of every four adults smoke, tobacco is an issue in every county, but it's rare for weekly newspapers to take a detailed look at the issue. The Harrodsburg Herald did that recently, in a three-part series by Robert Moore.

Moore explored why Mercer County and the state have relatively little money for tobacco prevention, writing, "Kentucky doesn't seem all that interested in fighting tobacco. In 2014 the state will receive $158.7 million in tobacco settlement money and spend only $2.5 million to help smokers quit and prevent kids from starting, according to the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy."

The states' lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers, and the Master Settlement Agreement that followed, was ostensibly to recover their costs for treating illnesses due to smoking. However, most of the money has gone to general purposes, and in Kentucky half the money was dedicated to improving the agricultural economy — but the legislature steered some of that money elsewhere, mainly for rural water lines, Moore noted.

"The largest single use of tobacco funds now is debt service," he wrote. "Every year, $28 million of the MSA payment goes to pay interest on $434,883,200 in outstanding municipal bonds. The bonds financed various construction projects over the last decade—$20 million for construction of the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Center in Lexington and $2 million for renovations to the FFA Leadership Training Center in Hardinsburg, both in 2008."

Another story explored the growing phenomenon of electronic cigarettes, and the other looked at efforts to curb smoking, statewide and locally. Moore looked at lobbying and campaign-finance reports from Altria Group, the leading cigarette manufacturer, and wrote about efforts by the Burgin High School chapter of Teens Against Tobacco Use to have smoking banned on their campus.

In a more recent story, Moore updated the Burgin issue, concluding, "Until something changes in the state legislature, schools like Burgin will be the most important battlegrounds in the fight against tobacco-related deaths."
Tweet
Newer Post Older Post

Popular Posts

  • Lexington is considering whether to add electronic cigarettes to its anti-smoking ordinance
    The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will discuss whether to expand its smoking ban to include electronic cigarettes, possibly as earl...
  • As part of UK campus food deal, Aramark puts up $5 million for Food Connection, vows to purchase Kentucky products
    By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The University of Kentucky has entered a $5 million public-private partnership designed to promote ...
  • Heavy use of e-cigarettes may deliver big doses of formaldehyde, which can be a cause of lung cancer, study suggests
    Vapor produced by electronic cigarettes can contain a surprisingly high concentration of formaldehyde—a known carcinogen that can cause lun...
  • Ten common myths about diabetes busted
    Kentucky ranks 17th in diabetes, and many Kentuckians are newly diagnosed every year with the disease, usually Type 2 diabetes. The diagnosi...
  • Ky. ranks 8th in the number of high-prescribing Medicare physicians for powerful narcotic painkillers and stimulants
    Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the ...
  • Newport school board's smoking ban, which includes e-cigarettes, would be 38th among 173 Kentucky school districts
    The Newport Independent Board of Education  passed the first reading of a proposed smoking ban Wednesday, Jan. 28 after adding electronic ci...
  • Millions of children on Medicaid are missing free check-ups; Kentucky is a little below the national average
    Millions of low-income children across the country aren't getting free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid, and some ...
  • Obamacare seems to be no plus for Kentucky Democrats, perhaps mainly because of the word's first three syllables
    Though the federal health-reform law has helped cover more than half a million Kentuckians and cut the state's uninsured population by h...
  • McConnell seeks 'timely and fair review' of plan for Medicare coverage of CT scans for those at high risk for lung cancer
    U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell asked Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to "give a timely and fair r...
  • Research suggests eating only during a nine- to 12-hour time period can help maintain healthy weight
    For a long time, scientists supposed that eating after midnight was unhealthy, but now a study has provided support for the notion. When sci...
Bernd Meier © . All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger