News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Kentuckians will pay with their health if lawmakers force cigar bars on smoke-free communities

Published

3 weeks ago

February 26, 2025

Staff Editor

kentuckylantern.com – Karma Clara Bryan, Ellen Hahn – 2025-02-26 04:30:00

Kentuckians will pay with their health if lawmakers force cigar bars on smoke-free communities

by Karma Clara Bryan and Ellen Hahn, Kentucky Lantern
February 26, 2025

House Bill 211 would threaten Kentuckians health by requiring local smoke-free ordinances to allow smoking in cigar bars. HB 211 could undo the dramatic public health protections afforded by the 44 strong smoke-free ordinances in Kentucky.

Smoke-free hospitality venues are popular. Tourists like to breathe smoke-free air.

Kentucky has a long history of yielding authority to local municipalities. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled local governments have the right and the responsibility to protect the public health by regulating smoking inside workplaces and buildings open to the public. Since 2003, 44 communities from Prestonsburg to Paducah have chosen to prohibit indoor smoking, including cigar smoking, equally in all establishments. HB 211 would leave local government powerless to regulate cigar and pipe tobacco smoking in hospitality venues.

Once cigar bars are exempt, there is nothing to stop other bars, hospitality venues or tobacco retailers from becoming cigar bars. In communities that allow indoor cigar smoking, youth and young adults may perceive that it is socially acceptable to use cigars and pipe tobacco, and they may get the false impression that cigars or pipes are safer or a status symbol.

If HB 211 becomes law, Kentuckians will pay more and suffer more from lung cancer, preterm births, emphysema, heart attacks, asthma and youth smoking. The science is clear. Cigar and pipe smoke contain the same toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke, including those that cause cancer. Strong smoke-free laws save lives and money by lowering smoking and saving health care costs. Smoke-free laws that exempt certain businesses, like cigar bars, do not confer these same benefits.

If a community with a smoke-free law wants to allow smoking in cigar bars, they already have the authority to do so. HB 211 takes away local communities’ ability to choose what’s best for their families and neighbors. It undermines home rule. It makes sense to leave local smoke-free laws up to local officials.

HB 211 would wipe away all the progress we have made in smoke-free protections in the state, plunging us from nearly 40% covered with strong smoke-free protections to 0%.

This commentary also was signed by Lisa Maggio, PhD, RN, Lexington; Karma Clara Bryan, RN, PhD, Lexington; Alison Connell, Rockcastle County; Audrey Darville, PhD, APRN, CPAHA-Tobacco Treatment, Danville; Carol Riker, RN, MSN, Lexington.

They are members of Nurses who Stand Up for Health, made up of nurse practitioners, school nurse leaders, environmental health researchers and health policy experts, representing both political parties.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

The post Kentuckians will pay with their health if lawmakers force cigar bars on smoke-free communities appeared first on kentuckylantern.com

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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Louisville EMS to use blood transfusions in the field

Published

12 hours ago

March 18, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – WLKY News Louisville – 2025-03-18 16:09:11

SUMMARY: Louisville EMS, responding to 120,000 calls annually, has become the first agency in Kentucky to provide blood transfusions in the field. Partnering with the American Red Cross, they will use emergency blood to intervene early, giving trauma victims crucial extra minutes before reaching the hospital. Studies show that early blood transfusions can increase survival rates by 75-85%. Two EMS vehicles will be equipped with blood coolers and warming machines to maintain patients’ body temperatures. The program aims to expand in a year, improving trauma care and saving more lives by addressing blood loss, a leading cause of death in trauma victims.

Louisville EMS to use blood transfusions in the field

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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Madisonville Community College wins national award for helping coal workers retool for new jobs

Published

15 hours ago

March 18, 2025

Staff Editor

kentuckylantern.com – Lantern staff – 2025-03-18 12:35:00

Madisonville Community College wins national award for helping coal workers retool for new jobs

by Lantern staff, Kentucky Lantern
March 18, 2025

Madisonville Community College’s efforts to prepare displaced coal industry workers for new jobs has won a national award.

The Bellwether Award recognizes innovative and impactful programs that drive student success and economic growth, says a news release from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

The college converted a building at the former Dotiki mine portal in Webster County into the Lisman Workforce Complex, a training center for “in-demand technical careers,” the release says.

Recognizing a regional shortage of local utility line workers and those with commercial driver’s license certification (CDL), the college opened enrollment to more students in both programs when classes began at the complex in 2022 and soon followed with a diesel technology program.

Partners include the Webster County Fiscal Court, Webster County Judge Executive Steve Henry and the Green River Area Development District, says the release.

Since 2019, the utility line technician program has grown by 68%, the release says, while graduates from the Lisman Workforce Complex achieve more than a 93% placement rate in their professions within six months of completion.

The Bellwether College Consortium also recognized Madisonville Community College for its project aimed at bridging gaps in skilled trades as a finalist in the instructional programs and services category.

The post Madisonville Community College wins national award for helping coal workers retool for new jobs appeared first on kentuckylantern.com

News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Super Bowl champ Malcolm Mitchell to rally Warren Co. students to ‘Read with Malcolm’

Published

16 hours ago

March 18, 2025

Staff Editor

www.wnky.com – WNKY Staff – 2025-03-18 11:57:00

SUMMARY: On March 25, over 700 students at Warren Elementary School will join the “Read with Malcolm Reading Rally,” led by Super Bowl champion Malcolm Mitchell, founder of the Share the Magic Foundation. Mitchell, who emphasizes the importance of reading, aims to inspire literacy among children. Each student will receive a copy of his book, “The Magician’s Hat,” and enjoy a high-energy assembly featuring a read-along and magic show. Since starting the foundation, Mitchell has impacted over 1.5 million students, encouraging young readers in underserved communities. More details can be found at readwithmalcolm.com.

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The post Super Bowl champ Malcolm Mitchell to rally Warren Co. students to ‘Read with Malcolm’ appeared first on www.wnky.com