Alabama's Anti-Smoking (lack of) effort.

     As a former smoker, I try not to be too judgemental about those who continue the habit. Quitting is hard!
     But I can be plenty critical of the state of Alabama for it's dismal performance when it comes to advocating quitting.
     A new survey  from the campaign for tobacco-free kids shows the state ranked 44th in using available funds for that purpose. And that's actually an improvement over the previous year!
     According to that report, there are 10,700 Alabama kids who become smokers every year. But the state spends only a tiny fraction of the amount recommended by the CDC based on tobacco income to the state ($242-Million!). Why get kids to stop! Their new habit is bankrolling other state expenses.
     Interestingly, when the state imposed a new monthly fee on state employees who smoke, it had no impact on the per-centage of those who do smoke...thought that was certainly a factor in my own quitting!