Second town in tobacco-loving Grayson County goes smoke-free; local Population Health Committee's efforts helped

Clarkson , in Grayson County ( Wikipedia map) By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Two of the three towns in Grayson County now have smo...

Life expectancy in 13 U.S. counties declined from 1980 to 2014; eight of them are in one contiguous area of Eastern Kentucky

Map by The Washington Post , based on data from University of Wisconsin Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation A knot of eight Eastern...

As electronic cigarettes gain backers in Washington, D.C., a conference in Richmond May 2 will discuss their effects on youth

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News "Project e-Prevent," a conference designed to help people understand electronic cigarettes...

Somerset doctor convicted of Medicaid fraud; sentenced to five years for falsifying smoking-cessation counseling sessions

Dr. Ezekiel Akande (Photo from Twitter ) A Pulaski County judge sentenced a Somerset doctor on Friday, April 21, to five years in prison for...

Anti-smoking expert: Cigarettes kill 8,900 Kentuckians a year, so it's time to raise cigarette tax and pass statewide smoking ban

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News "Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death that we know of," Ellen Hahn, direc...

Study says only way to protect children from smoke exposure is to quit or not smoke in house; nicotine residue is everywhere

Children carry significant levels of nicotine on their hands even if their parents don't smoke around them, according to a recent study ...

Foundation plans to be more active against tobacco, since it is the cause of many of Kentucky's health problems

As more Kentuckians favor a statewide smoking ban but the state legislature won't even ban smoking at schools, the Foundation for a Heal...

Support for statewide smoking ban rises to 71%

Seventy-one percent of Kentucky adults favor a statewide smoking ban, up 17 percentage points since the Kentucky Health Issues Poll began as...

More health bills pass as legislative session ends; one would require doctor's OK to play student athletes after concussions

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Several more health-related legislation passed in the final two days of the General Assembly's s...

59 percent of Ky. adults have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience, linked to physical and mental health issues

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation illustration By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Many health-care providers have started looking at adver...

High-school students' research finds smokers are more likely to want to quit smoking after seeing their carbon monoxide levels

Taryn Kerley and Becca Calvert, Barren County High School seniors Cigarette smokers who saw their carbon monoxide levels rise after they smo...

Bill passes to decrease smoking; one doesn't; lawmakers set to pass resolution for feds to ditch plan to limit tobacco carcinogen

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – Smoke-free advocates would say that this legislative session's record is 1-2. T...

Bill sent to Bevin would remove insurance-company barriers that keep Kentuckians from getting smoking-cessation treatments

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentuckians would have an easier time getting smoking-cessation treatments covered ...

Bill to make all Ky. schools tobacco-free is likely dead for this session; only 62 of the state's 173 school districts ban tobacco

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill that would ban tobacco use on school properties and at school events has al...

Tobacco ban for public-school properties and activities heads to the House on 25-8 Senate vote

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – The state Senate passed a bill Feb. 15 to ban the use of tobacco products and elect...

State Senate committee approves bill to remove insurance-company barriers to smoking-cessation treatments

Feb. 22 Update: SB89 passed 35-2 out of the full Senate and now heads to the House for consideration. March 14: SB89 passed 90-1 out of the ...