Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeTuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
WHO recognizes Washington stop smoking program
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. The World Health Organization has invited the director of Washington state's smoking prevention program to speak at an international conference.
The meeting later this week in Tunisia focuses on effective prevention strategies. Terry Reid, the Washington program's director since March 2001, is the only person from the United States invited to the conference.
Since Washington began its stop smoking program, adult smoking has decreased by 30 percent and youth smoking has dropped by about half.
To make up for a budget shortfall, the 2009 Legislature cut 43 percent of the dollars going to the program that pays for a telephone help line and media campaigns targeting young people.
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