FARGO, N.D. — Health educators celebrate “Kick Butts Day” by encouraging people to quit smoking. The first Kick Butts Day was celebrated in 1996. In North Dakota, nearly 20 percent of adults smoke, and one thousand deaths in the state are related to smoking each year. With resources at Fargo Cass Public Health as well as the state’s ND Quits program,…
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — Investigators have determined that a mobile home fire in Alexandria that killed two people was caused by careless smoking. The state fire marshal and Alexandria police and fire officials say the fire started in the living room near a couch and recliner. Forty-nine-year-old James Chandler and 59-year-old Rose Couillard died in the fire last Friday. The…
VATICAN CITY — It may bring in $11 million in profit for the Vatican, but Pope Francis is just saying “no” when it comes to the sales of cigarettes. The Holy See Press Offices says the Pope’s decision was based on the World Health Organization’s data that states smoking causes more than seven million deaths a year around the…
NORTH DAKOTA — State health officials say fewer pregnant women are smoking in North Dakota. The Department of Health’s birth certificate records show the state had a pregnancy smoking rate of 11.6 percent in 2016. That’s down from 13.8 percent in 2015. The CDC says the national smoking rate for pregnant women is 8.4 percent. Health officials also say…
FARGO, ND — Fire crews said an overnight deck fire in far south Fargo was caused by smoking materials not put out correctly. The fire crept up the walls and got into the attic of a house at 6084 61st Avenue South in the Deer Creek area of Fargo. Crews said it caused about $12,000 in damage. Before fire crews…
FARGO, ND — BreathND is done at the end of the month. The legislature voted to defund the state’s tobacco prevention agency in April. There will no longer be a statewide agency dedicated to tobacco prevention come July 1st. The funding will now be housed at the North Dakota Department of Health. Whether it was providing education or a plan…
MINNESOTA–Just two days after Edina made the change, the Minnesota Senate introduced a bill that raises the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21. Members of the Minnesotans for a Smoke Free Generation coalition called it a win. “It’s really a huge victory,” said Jason McCoy, the tobacco prevention coordinator with Clay County Public Health. Edina is the first city…
BreatheND asked state legislators to think twice before voting on a bill that would defund the program. In a press conference at Sanford Health in downtown Fargo, employees and advocates of the program highlighted the strides in reducing tobacco use made by BreatheND since its creation back in 2008. They said between 2013 and 2015 the program cut high school…
