Author: Al Cross
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Jump in teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes erases years of progress in reducing teen tobacco use; tobacco-free schools bill in Ky. House
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Teens’ use of electronic cigarettes is overwhelmingly responsible for erasing years of progress in reducing teen tobacco use, according to the latest annual National...
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47 Ky. counties have syringe exchange programs, but only half of the 54 at high risk of HIV and hepatitis C outbreaks have them
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky leads the nation in the number of syringe exchange programs, but passing such programs continues to require great amounts of public education and...
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Flu cases hit a new high for the season in the state’s latest report; season runs through May, so shots can still protect your family
Kentucky Department for Public Health chart — The number of influenza cases confirmed in Kentucky hit the highest level of the season, by far, in the week ended Feb. 2,...
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Tobacco-free school bill moves to full House; passage expected
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill to make Kentucky school properties tobacco-free passed unanimously out of the House health committee on Feb. 7 and was posted for...
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Bowling Green’s ‘street medicine’ program for homeless serves 60 per month, is one of few in small metropolitan communities in U.S.
Street medicine coordinator Melissa Cowles talks with William Schultz after giving him a new hat and jacket near the Bowling Green Public Library. (Daily News photo by Austin Anthony) — Bowling...
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Poll: Reported heroin, methamphetamine and painkiller use has increased; 44 percent of those needing treatment didn’t get it
Nearly a third of Kentucky adults reported having a family member or friend with a drug problem in the past 12 months, and just over half of those with problems...
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What state-level strategies work against the opioid epidemic?
The opioid epidemic is a major issue in every state, but not all are tackling it in the same ways. The National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan group of...
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Gubernatorial candidate Adam Edelen endorses statewide smoking ban and raising cigarette tax to national average
Adam Edelen — By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Adam Edelen, a Democratic candidate for governor, has endorsed a statewide ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and an increase in...
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Ambulance tax in Trigg County getting hospital into the black
Trigg County (Wikipedia map) — “Trigg County’s new ambulance tax has already reaped benefits for the Trigg County Hospital” in Cadiz, Tonya S. Grace reports for the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville. The hospital expects to get...
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State says vaccines company gave at workplaces caused infections, may not have immunized; delayed reaction possible
The state Department for Public Health says infections have resulted from vaccines distributed by a Mount Sterling company to workplaces in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio since Sept. 1. Location Vaccination “provided vaccines primarily...