DOGE Stubs Out Tobacco Prevention Programs in North Carolina

Federal cuts to North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services terminated the agency’s tobacco prevention efforts, reports WBTV:

At a statewide level, many of the department’s tobacco prevention efforts have ended or been severely cut back – best practices developed out of decades of research for stopping youth from taking up smoking, protecting nonsmokers from smoking environments, and helping smokers get assistance to quit.

That includes efforts to curb youth vaping.

“It’s more than financial, it really is,” said acting public health director Dr. Kelly Kimple. “It directly affects the lives and health of the people that we serve.”

In Mecklenburg County, health director Dr. Raynard Washington said they ended tobacco awareness campaigns, stopped participation in the Youth Tobacco Survey, and lost data that helps the department identify emerging issues and target interventions.