Grant aimed at stopping pregnant smokers in Kentucky

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Department for Public Health has announced a grant to address the issue of women who smoke while pregnant.

The Anthem Foundation is supplying the $140,000 grant, which will help fund the Giving Infants and Families Tobacco Free Starts program. The program is aimed at decreasing the number of women who smoke during pregnancy and reducing exposure to secondhand smoke. The funding will be used in Christian, Hopkins and Madison counties.

According to the state, smoking during pregnancy has declined in Kentucky over the past decade. Smoking rates among pregnant women dropped from 26 percent in 2004 to 22 percent in 2013.