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According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health, West Virginia has the highest reported adult smoking rate in the nation \u2013 26.7 percent. The Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA), a CADCA Initiative, has collaborated with Community Connections, a West Virginia based coalition, which is hosting a dedication ceremony for Mark\u2019s Barn on Thursday, October 12, 2017 along U.S. Highway 219 in Marlinton, West Virginia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we are pleased with the decrease in smoking in recent years, it is still a serious health issue in our country, especially in West Virginia,\u201d said General Arthur T. Dean, Chairman and CEO of CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America). \u201cProminent and poignant signs, like Mark\u2019s Barn, will serve not only as a motivation to encourage smoking cessation from current smokers, but ideally as a deterrent for future smokers and tobacco users.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the first-ever paid national tobacco education campaign \u2013 Tips from Former Smokers \u00ae (Tips \u00ae).\u00a0 The Tips\u00ae campaign profiles real people who are living with the serious long-term health effects from smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.\u00a0\u00a0 Positive outcomes of the Tips\u2122<\/em> campaign and ads include:<\/p>\n With the guidance of Gregory Puckett, Executive Director of Community Connections, GHEA has localized Tips \u00ae<\/em> real stories as a way of responding to geographic disparities related to tobacco and cancer via culturally competent media \u2013 barns. Puckett identified a Pocahontas County barn to feature Tips\u2122<\/em> key messages, highlighting Mark\u2019s tip: \u201cThose things you say will never happen to you? They happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark\u2019s Barn marks the 13\u00ba<\/sup> barn painted by Community Connections, Inc., the Barn Artist and other key partners in West Virginia.\u00a0 The completion of each barn is made whole with a dedication ceremony.\u00a0 The dedication ceremony for Mark\u2019s Barn will take place on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 11 am EST along U.S. Highway 219 in Marlinton, West Virginia.<\/p>\n About the CDC<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is at the forefront of the nation\u2019s efforts to reduce deaths and prevent chronic diseases that result from tobacco use. The agency and its partners promote tobacco control interventions, including actions to prevent youth from starting to use tobacco, smoke-free environments, programs to help tobacco users quit, and steps to eliminate tobacco-related health disparities in different population groups.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health, West Virginia has the<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":1597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n