skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Great American Smokeout in One Week

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 12, 2009   

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Great American Smokeout is one week from today, but many Kentuckians who want to quit their tobacco habit probably aren't getting enough help. That's according to a new report, "Helping Smokers Quit: State Cessation Coverage 2009," which shows that Kentucky is one of only six states that does not offer comprehensive smoking cessation benefits to all Medicaid recipients.

Menisa Marshall, with the American Lung Association in Kentucky, says the state legislature would be wise to invest in funding the smoking treatments that target the 285,000 smokers currently on Kentucky Medicaid.

"If we would just allot $1.5 million for this program now, we could qualify for a significant amount of matching money from the federal government and actually save money on our Medicaid costs."

She says because a 2007 quit-smoking program never was implemented, thousands of Kentuckians were left with no affordable option to help them quit smoking. Most of the variety of programs and medications that help people who are addicted to tobacco are not free, she points out.

"There are smoking cessation therapeutic aids people can qualify for and get, patches and the pills people are familiar with, that can be used for assistance, and there is counseling."

According to experts, tobacco kills 443,000 people in America each year. Kentucky ranks number one in tobacco-related deaths, with 7,800 people dying each year due to tobacco use.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021