Smoke-Free Environments Improve the Health of Kentuckians

Oct 19th, 2011

Kentucky Voices for Health (KVH), a coalition of more than 250 organizations and individuals working to build a healthier Kentucky, supports smoke-free policies in its mission to enable Kentuckians to breathe clean air and work in healthier environments. The coalition supports statewide and local community efforts to rid indoor workplaces, restaurants, bars and other public places from secondhand smoke. This is a positive step toward creating healthier communities across the Commonwealth.

KVH has established a set of priorities to help advocate for improving Kentucky’s health policies and programs. Among the priorities are tobacco prevention and the promotion of smoke-free communities. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in nonsmokers. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke in public places or at work significantly increase their risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory illnesses.

One of the best ways to prevent these chronic illnesses and the long-term health care costs associated with them is to invest in preventative measures to ensure they never happen. Establishing smoke-free policies is one of the easiest and most proven ways to help improve the overall health of our population and cut down on long-term costs.

The healthcare landscape in Kentucky and the nation is changing, and it is important that preventative measures, such as smoking cessation efforts and reducing the exposure to secondhand smoke, remains a priority. Doing so will help all Kentuckians breathe a little easier.

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Smoke-Free Environments Improve the Health of Kentuckians

Coalition Partners