• 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

  • Study of poor but healthy Appalachian counties aims to find community-based approaches to improving the region's health
    Though some people equate Appalachian areas with poverty, David Krol seeks to "shine a light" on a different picture—one that refl...
  • 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...
  • 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 ...
  • 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...
  • Kynect private-insurance enrollment runs through Feb. 15; exchange works to get taxpayers information to prove coverage
    With the close of open enrollment coming Feb. 15, state officials are making a final push to get Kentuckians to enroll in Medicaid or buy pr...
  • 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...
  • Anderson schools' lunch profit is down nearly 10 percent; officials blame new federal nutrition standards; students object to food
    Anderson County s chool officials say new federal nutrition standards are costing them money and hurting poor students because the students...
  • Senate OKs bill for review panels in medical lawsuits after lively debate between doctors, lawyers, others
    This story, which was published Thursday morning, has been updated with action in the full Senate. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News F...
  • Medicare plans to pay for lung-cancer screening, a boon to Ky.
    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  plan to start paying for lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans for people at high ris...
  • County Health Rankings look familiar, but show that some counties overcame bad factors to have encouraging outcomes
    The 2015 County Health Rankings for Kentucky, compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute in collaboration with the...
Bernd Meier © . All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger