Saturday, June 19, 2010
Charleston Leads The Nation In Smoking
WEST VIRGINIA...
A national study says Charleston has the nation's highest proportion of smokers. Huntington ranks third. Healthways, a well-being company based in Tennessee, says its list is based on data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Dr. Rahul Gupta of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department says one of the reasons Charleston's smoking rate is so high is that West Virginia does not fund tobacco-cessation programs at the level recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chuck Hamsher, director of public advocacy for the American Heart Association in West Virginia, says the CDC recommends West Virginia spend about $27 million annually on tobacco-cessation programs. The state allocates about $6 million.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 4:08 PM 
