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StumbleHealth District gets $14.6 million from stimulus to fight smoking
Friday, March 19, 2010 | 4:24 p.m.
Sun Coverage
The Southern Nevada Health District will receive a $14.6 million grant to fund its Tobacco Control Program, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday.
The grant is one of 44 that will be funded with $372.8 million in federal stimulus money.
Southern Nevada’s portion will go toward continuing and expanding work the health district has done to keep people from smoking and to help smokers quit, officials said.
More than 84 percent of funds will go to community groups and partner agencies the district has been working with, said Dr. Lawrence Sands, the district’s chief health officer.
“One of the strengths of our application was that we have built up these relationships already,” Sands said. “These aren’t relationships that just came together to get this grant.”
Mesquite City Councilwoman Donna Fairchild, who is a member of the board of health, said the funds would go a long way in helping the community.
“Without aggressive efforts to prevent and control chronic diseases … the rise in health care costs of preventable diseases will remain unchecked and an increasing number of Americans will continue to suffer from tobacco- and obesity-related illnesses,” she said. “Prevention and wellness are an important part of cutting costs, improving the heath of Americans, and make best use of our community’s limited resources.”
The cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses in Nevada is $565 million per year, said Maria Azzarelli, the district’s Tobacco Control Program coordinator.
Azzarelli said when compared to the cost of treating illnesses, as well as the $113 million the tobacco industry spends annually on advertising in Nevada, the grant doesn’t look like much, but it will make a difference.
“This amount of money has never been dedicated to smoking cessation before in Southern Nevada,” she said. “With this new grant award we will be able to fight back against the tobacco industry to accomplish so much more over the next two years.”
Many of the groups that will be working with the district have been struggling financially, Azzarelli said.
“A lot of these projects are going through budget cuts and some face elimination,” she said. “This money could not have come at a better time for them.”
The Nevada Cancer Institute is one of those groups, said Rosemary West, the institute’s partnership director.
The institute expects to get funding through the district to begin doing adult smoking cessation workshops. The institute stopped the program when funding dried up, West said.
Another beneficiary of the grant will be Rescue SCG, a research and marketing company that works with organizations for social change.
The company currently has one employee in Las Vegas, but plans on hiring five additional full-time workers and a number of part-time staffers, President Jeff Jordan said.
But the real importance of the grant will be its effect on the community, he said.
“This is about building a lifestyle around being smoke-free,” Jordan said. “Being smoke-free can be sexy, it can be cool, it can be all those things tobacco promises.”
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Are they going to start with an ordinance to ban smoking in the hotel/casinos so visitors will be protected also?
Jeessshhhh...smoking will negatively affect your health, either partially or substantially...there, that is all we need to know...please use the $14.6 M for something else...
I thought The stimulus money was to save or create jobs.. This $14.6 million should come from the Health bill..
What tha.......? This administation has got to go. This is so insane.
Most of my friends who work in the casinos smoke. Especially the females, I think it is a weight thing. But when you think about it, they have to interact with wild butt fiends at the tables and bar. Drunken gamblers who go through a pack easily, dropping butts on the carpet, so what?, whatever will keep them gambling.
If you've ever been in a smoke pit casino, like those on Boulder Hwy, you realize that to not smoke is one step from Hell in these places. Everybody's clothes stink. Until we stop the addicts blowing smoke in enclosed spaces, you will die young if you work there. So make your choice in this rotten economy-but you will pay later.
Stimulus to fight smoking....... How many or save JOBS will this Make for Nevada ZERO NONE .......stimulus or Grant make up your mine....... just one Casino goes smokeless kiss our state good bye...... Thanks to King O. Don't go to Las Vegas save your money.
This is very good. It will save people's lives.
They had better use some of that money to start enforcing the non-smoking law we all passed four years ago. You know, the one that most convenience stores and many bars completely ignore? It is disgusting to go into stores with open food items displayed, minors allowed, and some moron is stinking up the place and causing a direct threat to everyone's health while no one does anything about it. Since a judge (with a conflict of interest) gutted the law and made the health department enforce it instead of police, then please use some of this money to START ENFORCING THE LAW.
BUT STILL THERE IS NO ENFORCEMENT OF THE SMOKING BANS, ANYWHERE.
EMPLOYERS KNOW THIS AND WON'T SPEND THE MONEY TO ENFORCE THE BANS, EITHER.
THEY LOOK THE OTHER WAY AS LONG AS THE PROFITS KEEP ROLLING IN AND
EVERYBODY ELSE PUTS UP WITH THE PUTRID CIGARETTE SMOKE......
Purgatory, Terry_, emvance -- I'm with you guys on this one.
"The cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses in Nevada is $565 million per year, said Maria Azzarelli, the district's Tobacco Control Program coordinator."
Read the article. This is more about Azzarelli and her cronies getting paychecks than actual public benefit. Considering what a hoax the anti-tobacco types like these keep pushing -- misquoting, padding the numbers and junk science -- this is just good $$ thrown away.
While people are losing their homes, their jobs, and can't afford even the basics any more, this $14.6 million is misapplied. Got to wonder who stroked who for this one.
Will the SNHD be able to state how many people are now smoking and how many will have quit after they spend the money? We all know the answer is no. Money down the drain as with most funds being spent on programs where NOBODY is held accoumtable for RESULTS!!!!!!
Gotta vote out incumbants who keep borrowing to fund this stuff.
Looks like the Smoke Nazis don't want to come out and play.
So, let me see if I understand the Federal Government. If one person dies from a prescription drug (that helps thousands of others) - the FDA bans the drug. BUT instead of banning tobacco products (which kill thousands) the Federal Government squanders millions of our dollars on advertising against smoking? Uhm, sure.....
emvance: you are pretty funny. Did you read the article or just the headline? Typical conservative reaction, exaggerate the facts to make you point. The article talks about one of the partners hiring new people to do the work, and I bet all of the other partners are going to hire too. It is new money to do something, who do you think is going to do it? People doing stuff (even if you don't agree with it) = jobs. Learn to read.
vegasrr: I'm sure that they have to track what they accomplish. The CDC is one of the best federal agencies in terms of tracking what they do.
As long as stimulus money goes to fund actual things that need to be done, then jobs are going to be created. So love or hate smoking, these are jobs! And the money came to Vegas over other cities, we should be happy about it!
What do they need $14.6 million for? Everyone knows about the ills of smoking and the available smoking cessation options. How about using the some of the money to hire a lobbyist to get a complete smoking ban in casinos! That will do the most good for all of the local citizens and tourists or maybe offer to "pay" those who quit smoking with the money?