Tag: Smoking

W.Va. Checks Tobacco Sales to Minors

West Virginia officials say retailers continue to ensure they’re not selling tobacco to minors.

An annual statewide survey indicates that 87.8 percent of retailers inspected did not sell tobacco products to youth under the age of 18 during 2014.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources says it’s the 15th consecutive year in which West Virginia has been in compliance with federal requirements that limit retail sales of tobacco to minor youth.

Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities Commissioner Vickie Jones applauded retailers and employees for their efforts to prevent tobacco sales to minors.

Study: 25 Percent of Pregnant W.Va. Women Smoke

  More than 25 percent of pregnant women in West Virginia from 2008 to 2011 said they smoked during their pregnancy.

Federal data and a state health organization say pregnant West Virginia women continue to smoke at the highest recorded rates in the nation.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that West Virginia Kids Count released the data this week. Kids Count is a nonprofit organization that advocates for children.

The organization cites information collected by the state. Information collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the problem could be even more pervasive in West Virginia.

In every year but one from 2000 to 2011, more than a quarter of West Virginia mothers surveyed said they smoked in the last three months of their pregnancy. 

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