Yakima’s most successful anti-smoking programs were axed by the state last week. Everything from programs preventing kids from starting the habit, to classes to help people quit smoking are gone. The Valley has seen a dramatic decline in smokers, but Action News discovered this could be the move that turns that positive trend around.
Anti-smoking campaign
Right now Yakima County is considered lung healthy. The latest numbers show 86% of adults are non-smokers and 83% of kids also don’t smoke.
Claudia Keeney is one of those non-smokers, but she didn’t join that group until about two years ago.
“My daughter here says oh mom I can’t believe it,” said Keeney.
Her daughter can’t believe it because Claudia started smoking when she was 18. Now in her 60’s, she smoked for 46 years. One day she decided to call the lung association’s quit line and stop smoking forever. Since that day she hasn’t picked up a cigarette.
“I still don’t,” said Keeney. “I still have no cravings for smoking.”
Claudia is just one success story the lung association can point to. Since the programs started about ten years ago, Yakima has been able to decrease adult smoking by 32%.
“So that’s really good and we’ve also been able to see a drop in youth smoking by 50 %,” said Jacqueline Diaz with the American Lung Association.
Those numbers could change, now that all funding for anti-smoking programs have been cut. With the Lung Association shut down in Yakima you would think the only place to offer anti-smoking programs would be over flooded with people wanting the services. However, the hospitals are not seeing that.
In fact the Lung Association and hospitals agree the interest in these classes has been declining to just about one person a month. Whether a lack of interest made the Lung Association an easy target for cuts, is unclear. What is clear, is the association’s partnerships with local hospitals and the community on everything from National Night Out to Healthy Heart programs is going away.
“We don’t what that outcome is going to be, said Diaz” “We just know it’s not going to be a positive outcome.”
The Lung Association says other cities have experienced a rise in the number of smokers after programs leave. They expect the same will happen here in Yakima.
