Anti-Tobacco Money Disappearing
WASHINGTON STATE -- State budget woes have slashed anti-tobacco funds in half.
David Sully is a man torn between routine and reality. A pack-a-day smoker, Sully knows he's not doing himself any favors, but when you're addicted, old habits are hard to kick.
"I drink my coffee, smoke my cigarette and go to work," Sully says of his morning routine.
Unfortunately, Sully won't be getting much help to change that ritual anytime soon, especially if money keeps being cut from Washington's anti-tobacco campaign.
The numbers are sobering: $20 million cut from anti-smoking programs this year.
"These (anti-smoking) programs are going to discontinue and it will get worse and worse and worse," says Dan Smith, of the American Lung Association.
In fact, Action News uncovered numbers that suggests the problem is already getting worse.
In the past year, Yakima County's smoking rate has spiked by 3.5%, meaning 7,000 more people are lighting up every day.
So far, there's been no increase in the Tri-Cities, but with Benton County already leading the rest of the state in smokers, anti-tobacco advocates worry the worst may be yet to come.
Sully says peer pressure is the reason why he started smoking.
"I was in construction... everybody on the crew smoked. It's just the way it was."
Sully's been lighting up for two decades now. Like a lot of folks, he wants to quit, but as Washington's anti-tobacco programs get slashed, any actual success may be "going up in smoke."
David Sully is a man torn between routine and reality. A pack-a-day smoker, Sully knows he's not doing himself any favors, but when you're addicted, old habits are hard to kick.
"I drink my coffee, smoke my cigarette and go to work," Sully says of his morning routine.
Unfortunately, Sully won't be getting much help to change that ritual anytime soon, especially if money keeps being cut from Washington's anti-tobacco campaign.
The numbers are sobering: $20 million cut from anti-smoking programs this year.
"These (anti-smoking) programs are going to discontinue and it will get worse and worse and worse," says Dan Smith, of the American Lung Association.
In fact, Action News uncovered numbers that suggests the problem is already getting worse.
In the past year, Yakima County's smoking rate has spiked by 3.5%, meaning 7,000 more people are lighting up every day.
So far, there's been no increase in the Tri-Cities, but with Benton County already leading the rest of the state in smokers, anti-tobacco advocates worry the worst may be yet to come.
Sully says peer pressure is the reason why he started smoking.
"I was in construction... everybody on the crew smoked. It's just the way it was."
Sully's been lighting up for two decades now. Like a lot of folks, he wants to quit, but as Washington's anti-tobacco programs get slashed, any actual success may be "going up in smoke."
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