American Lung Association Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Anti-Tobacco Advocates Disappointed With Lack Of Legislative Consideration

Advocates say they are disappointed lawmakers did not consider increasing funding for tobacco prevention during the second special session of the legislature.

West Virginia has the highest rate of smokers in the U.S. and tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of cancer and death from cancer in the state.

At least 21 percent of adults and 27 percent of high school students in the state use tobacco products, according to the American Lung Association’s most recent data.

Over the summer, tobacco prevention and cessation advocates met with lawmakers from both chambers in an attempt to amplify the state’s need for funding to curb West Virginia’s nation-leading smoking rates.

In a letter dated July 17, 2024, the West Virginia State Medical Association, the West Virginia Dental Association, the West Virginia Hospital Association and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), asked Gov. Jim Justice to include $4.5 million in tobacco prevention and cessation funding in his call for a special legislative session.

“We’re actually using a proposal for $4.5 million of additional funding, and that’s something that was endorsed by the governor’s [tobacco] task force back late last year,” Doug Hogan, the government relations director for ACS CAN in West Virginia, said. “It was presented in committee, and we feel that would be a very good first step in getting some additional funds for tobacco prevention here in the state.”

However, when the state’s second call for a special session of the year was announced, there was no mention of tobacco cessation funding.

Hogan said his organization delivered petitions to state officials with more than 900 signatures from West Virginians in all 55 counties, asking lawmakers to increase funding to West Virginia’s Division of Tobacco Prevention.

“Over the last several months, we have initiated several tactics trying to amplify the message that additional tobacco prevention funding is urgently needed here in West Virginia,” Hogan said.

Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, brought the petition to the Senate floor where it was referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources.

West Virginia receives more than $232.6 million in tobacco revenue annually from tobacco settlement payments and taxes combined but invests less than one percent of that total, $451,000, in tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

“West Virginia ranks 50th in the country, dead last when you compare the amount of investment in tobacco prevention that West Virginia has compared to other states in the country,” Hogan said. “While West Virginia ranks dead last, 50th in the country, when you compare the investment level here to the investment of tobacco prevention programs in other states, West Virginia has, in return, the largest, the highest usage rates when it comes to children and also when it comes to adults.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that West Virginia spend $24.7 million annually to combat the health and economic consequences of tobacco use.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Cancer Advocates Petition Governor To Address Tobacco Use In Special Session

Cancer advocates are petitioning West Virginia’s governor to consider an investment for tobacco prevention in his expected call for a special session in August.

Advocates with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN) delivered around 900 petitions and organizational support letters from various state health associations to Gov. Jim Justice’s office at the Capitol on Wednesday, asking him to prioritize funding to address tobacco use in the state during a rumored upcoming special legislative session.

The West Virginia Medical Association, the West Virginia Hospital Association and the West Virginia Dental Association all signed on to the organizational support letter, according to the network’s Government Relations Director Doug Hogan.

“The petitions, as well as the organizational support letters, were all in response to our request for an additional investment in tobacco prevention funding,” Hogan said. “We think there’s an opportunity with the anticipated special session coming up late next month for the governor to include tobacco prevention funding as part of his call for that special session.”

West Virginia is ranked 50th for funding critical programs to reduce tobacco use and has the highest adult and teen smoking rates in the nation.

“What we’re looking for is an initial investment of around $4.5 million,” Hogan said. “That money would go for youth prevention strategies…We would also be able to provide additional resources for adults who want to kick the habit, tobacco products.”

An annual report from the American Lung Association (ALA), released in January, notes the need for policymakers to use tobacco settlement money and taxes to reduce tobacco use in West Virginia.

Hogan said these strategies could not only improve the overall health of West Virginia but save the state money in health care costs.

“We want to continue to work with those individuals and come up with strategies again, that will help protect their kids from E-cigarettes, will provide resources to adults who want to quit, and will also save the state quite honestly, millions upon millions of dollars by reducing health care costs, and also reducing business costs associated with having smokers on the payroll,” Hogan said.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in West Virginia, taking an estimated 4,280 state residents each year, according to the ALA.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

New Report Finds W.Va. Among Cleanest States For Air Pollution

The Charleston Metro Area ranked among the nation’s cleanest cities for ozone pollution in a report released Wednesday.

The American Lung Association released its annual “State of the Air” report, which grades exposure to unhealthy levels in the air quality.

“It grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone, air pollution, which you and I might think of a smog, annual particle pollution, which we might think of as soot, and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period,” said Aimee Van Cleave, the advocacy director for the American Lung Association in West Virginia.

While the Charleston Metro Area earned an A grade, the Wheeling Metro Area earned a B grade, its best result for year-round particle pollution.

“It’s doing really well,” Van Cleave said. “So we’re finding really positively that folks in West Virginia are breathing some of the cleanest air in the country.”

The report looked at levels of ozone, or smog, the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people. Cities are ranked based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days.

The Charleston metro area had zero unhealthy days per year. The Wheeling metro area had an average of 0.3 unhealthy days per year.

While West Virginia scored well, the rest of the nation did not. The report found that nearly four in 10 people live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution.

Van Cleave said exposure to particle pollution can lead to lung cancer, asthma episodes, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births and impaired cognitive functioning later in life.

“We can encourage folks to go to airnow.gov, where you can see if you are having a poor-quality day, and then you can take precautions such as rolling up your car windows, not exercising outside, putting your air conditioner on recirculate,” Van Cleave said. “And then of course, taking extra precautions for children and people with lung disease.”

Van Cleave said climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up. She said people should check the air quality in their area before exercising outside and take action by signing a petition.

“What we’re asking folks to do to improve air quality, there are a number of things including calling on the EPA to set long overdue, stronger national limits on ozone pollution,” Van Cleave said. “Folks can also just look at the air quality in their area and make personal choices like biking or walking rather than using the car, those kinds of things.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Earns Failing Grades In Tobacco Use

West Virginia has once again scored failing marks on its annual State of Tobacco Report Card.

A new report from the American Lung Association reveals West Virginia has the worst rates of smoking in the nation for adults and high school students.

The 22nd annual report evaluates state and federal policies on actions taken to eliminate tobacco use and recommends preventative tobacco control laws and policies.

“We provide states sort of a report card, just like you would get in school, and for West Virginia’s report card, it was almost exactly straight Fs with one D,” said Aimee VanCleave, advocacy director for the ALA of West Virginia. “So not the kind of report card that anyone would be proud of.”

The report notes the need for policymakers use tobacco settlement money and taxes to reduce tobacco use. l.

“West Virginia policymakers have an opportunity to address high rates of tobacco use by increasing funding for tobacco control, and eliminating punitive use possession,” VanCleave said. “So what that means, in short, is West Virginia receives over $200 million from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes that could be used to help programs that would help people stop using tobacco. But they only extended less than half a million of that funding to tobacco control efforts.”

The report outlines calls to action including increasing funding for tobacco prevention and quit-smoking programs and eliminating punitive youth possession use and purchase laws.

“That’s why we’re urging the governor and the state legislature to address the disproportionately high burden of tobacco use by increasing funding for our tobacco control programs,” VanCleave said. “Then eliminating programs that are not effective, like punitive measures for youth possession, use and purchase laws.”

According to the report, the adult smoking rate in West Virginia is 21 percent, while the high school tobacco use rate is 27 percent, meaning almost a third of high school students are using tobacco.

The report also recommends passing a comprehensive smoke-free law.

“The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded there’s no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” VanCleave said. “We know that passing a comprehensive smoke free law would eliminate smoking and all public places and workplaces. So restaurants, bars, casinos, things that will protect workers across the state from exposure to something that we know is deadly and cancer-causing.”

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in West Virginia, taking an estimated 4,280 state residents each year, according to the ALA.

“It takes the lives of 1000s of state residents every year, VanCleave said. “And the tobacco industry will do absolutely anything to protect their profits at the expense of West Virginia lives. So it’s up to us. And it’s up to the West Virginia legislature in particular, to push forward in our efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use. So that’s why we’re calling on state policymakers to expand tobacco control funding to address the high rates of tobacco use, including and among young West Virginians.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

W.Va. Ranks Poorly In National Lung Cancer Report

Lung cancer and smoking rates in the state lag behind the rest of the country and aren’t showing any signs of improvement, according to a new report.

The American Lung Association’s 2023 “State of Lung Cancer” report ranked West Virginia 47 out of 48 states included in the report for new lung cancer cases.

“Unfortunately, West Virginia ranked second highest in the nation for new lung cancer cases, and the worst in the nation for adults who currently smoke,” said Aimee Van Cleave, advocacy director for the American Lung Association in West Virginia. “So there’s so much more work that is needed to reduce the burden of lung cancer, particularly in West Virginia.”

According to the report, West Virginians aren’t surviving lung cancer, either.

Bob Herron, a thoracic surgeon and the director of lung cancer screening at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital in Wheeling, said while the numbers say the state is making slow, steady progress, there’s still a lot of work to do.

“We are at the bottom of the lists of a lot of the major categories such as the new lung cancer cases,” Herron said. “I believe we were 47 out of 51. And we also ranked 37 out of 42 in lung cancer survival at 22.4 percent.”

The national survival rate is 26 percent. While rates of smoking in West Virginia are alarming, Van Cleave said there are other contributing factors to West Virginia’s rates of lung cancer.

“The bottom line is, if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer,” Van Cleave said. “So while smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, there are so many other things that contribute to that as well, including environmental air quality, including exposure to radon and even your genetics.”

Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Van Cleave said homeowners should keep Radon detectors up to date to avoid exposure. West Virginia ranked 31 out of 51 states and Puerto Rico surveyed in Radon exposure.

“If you’re breathing things in the air that your body is not meant to breathe, that has detrimental impacts on your body, which is why we spend so much time at the lung association looking at all of the different risk factors related to lung cancer,” Van Cleave said.

Van Cleave and Herron encouraged people who might be at high risk to take a survey at savedbythescan.org. It helps determine eligibility for a new kind of low-dose CT scan to check for lung cancer.

“I would implore people who fit that bill to ask their primary care physician about it and to get the ball rolling to get a low dose CT to evaluate for a lung nodule, or potential lung cancer that could be potentially, discovered in the earlier stages as opposed to the later stages, which, as everybody knows, an early stage cancer is so much more feasible and easier to cure than the latter stage,” Herron said.

According to Van Cleave, a long-term solution to the lung cancer and smoking problem could be brought about by legislative action from state lawmakers.

“That is why the lung association calls on state legislators to increase funding for tobacco control of cessation efforts, which have been dramatically underfunded year after year to the cost of countless lives,” Van Cleave said.

While West Virginia has shown improvement over the past five years in new cases, survival and early diagnosis, experts say there is still plenty of work to do.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Hundreds Of Teens Attend Anti-Tobacco Summit

Hundreds of middle and high school students gathered at the Raze Youth Summit to learn about the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping.

Nearly 700 students from across West Virginia attended the Raze Youth Summit on Wednesday morning to learn about the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping.

Raze is a youth-led movement against the tobacco industry. Attendees are between the ages of 11 and 18 years old.

The program is funded and facilitated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the Center for Disease Control Prevention and the American Lung Association (ALA).

Students and educators gathered at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for activities and educational sessions aimed at curbing smoking rates among teens.

Participants had the opportunity to have special effects makeup show how smoking would affect their aging process. The session was called “The Unfiltered Truth: The Physical Toll of Nicotine,” and featured special effects makeup artist, RJ Haddy. Haddy was a finalist on the Syfy Network’s reality television game show, “Face Off.”

One of the hundreds of attendees was Indy Tupa, a Raze Ambassador from Mineral County. She said Raze taught her ways to help her father quit smoking.

“I offered my dad those like links and those resources from like, the RAZE website, and like, alternatives to smoking, like chewing gum, or just like snacking on stuff,” Tupa said. “And that really helped him quit.”

In West Virginia, 22 percent of adults smoke and nearly 41 percent of high school students use a tobacco product, according to the ALA’s 2023 State of Tobacco report.

Tupa also said her school did not have working vape detectors in the bathrooms for about three years.

“My crew really pushed to get those working again, because vaping is a huge problem in my school,” Tupa said. “Not vaping has like really like opened my eyes to like how bad it is for people who do vape because like their throat always hurts, and they’re always coughing, and I just hear them complaining about how like sick they feel all the time.”

Jaxson Walker is a State Ambassador for Raze. He joined his Wyoming County school’s Raze crew in middle school and quickly rose up through the ranks of ambassadors.

“My fifth grade year, they asked us like to sign up for Raze, so I signed up, and then I never really realized how deep I was gonna dive into Raze, becoming a junior ambassador my eighth grade year,” Walker said.

As a State Ambassador, Walker had responsibilities to fulfill during the Summit. He and other ambassadors have been planning the event since the beginning of the year.

“I have a couple like topics I think are big today, and I think that would be peer pressure,” Walker said. “Whenever someone’s peer pressuring you into vaping or something. And then the other is people need to learn the effect a secondhand smoker can have on someone.”

Walker said he feels judged by his peers sometimes, but he just wants them to stop using nicotine products.

“You feel judged sometimes I feel like there’s been people that have judged me but I really don’t care,” Walker said. “Most people that are in it (Raze), we really just want you to quit because by the time you get older, you don’t realize it now you think, ‘Oh it feels good,’ but it’s gonna affect you really badly. I know several people in my county who have died of lung cancer I know people in my school who have vaped and just want them to quit.”

Walker called Raze events a safe space for teens like him to foster community.

“We talk with each other,” Walker said. “It’s like a little community. We have ideas. It’s just a great place to be and it’s a great club to be in. I encourage everyone to get into it. Go to your local high school, go to whatever, just get involved.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.