Tobacco control comes up short in state budget, while anti-vaping law could

On Apr 16, 2024

PADNWS-04-16-24 VAPING.jpg — Kentucky has one of the nation’s highest rates of new lung cancer cases. Cigarette smoking is linked to 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Metro Creative

FRANKFORT — In a year when the American Cancer Society asked the Kentucky legislature to increase spending on tobacco prevention, lawmakers cut it and passed an anti-vaping bill that some say could increase cigarette use in the state.

The two-year state budget’s allocation for tobacco prevention — about $8 million shy of advocates’ ask — “certainly is not” enough to combat use in the state, said Doug Hogan, the government relations director in Kentucky for the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Action Network.

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PADNWS-04-16-24 VAPING whatley.jpg — Alicia Whatley

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