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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.

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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.

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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.

New Battle to Clear the Air: UK Hospital Takes the Lead

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Thursday, September 24, 2009   

LEXINGTON, Ky. - University of Kentucky HealthCare and community partners across the state have launched a statewide, five-year campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke. A survey by University of Kentucky HealthCare reveals that more than 1.5 million Kentuckians underestimate the serious negative impact secondhand smoke can have on their health. Nearly half of the adults surveyed reported they had been exposed to secondhand smoke in the last week.

UK Medical Center pulmonologist Don Hayes says the health consequences of exposure to secondhand smoke are worse than many people think. The physician adds that a new education campaign is underway to spread the word.

"I see the ongoing problems with small children being exposed, and then we're starting to see the problems later in life as people age. This is definitely a contributing factor to the problem that we face in our state."

The campaign includes educational materials in schools and on the Internet. The U.S. Surgeon General lists involuntary secondhand smoke exposure as a cause of disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports parents' smoking accounts for almost 90 percent of a child's exposure to secondhand smoke. Hayes says it's potentially devastating to a child's health.

"The exposure could be huge for a child. If a mom or a dad or both smoke, think about being around that parent most of the day, especially if you're not in school - in the car with them, in the home with them, everywhere with them. It's almost like a child smoking."

Hayes adds that when more Kentuckians become aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke, the new five-year educational campaign will have made its mark.

"If people stop smoking, wonderful. We want them to be aware of what the problem is and what they may be contributing to the problem. Education is the key."

The campaign also will include comments by the new UK basketball coach, John Calipari.




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