Category Archives: News

For 26 years, the American Lung Association has analyzed data from official air quality monitors to compile the State of the Air. The more you learn about the air you breathe here in Arizona, the more you can protect your health and take steps to make our air cleaner and healthier. What's the state of your air? Read the report for Arizona Highlights by clicking Select Location.

Read the complete report State of the Air.

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This morning at 12:01 AM eastern time, the American Lung Association released their 23rd annual “State of Tobacco Control” report. The American Lung Association’s 2025 “State of Tobacco Control” report, released today, highlights the public health perils of menthol tobacco use and the failure by the White House to finalize the rules to end menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in December. The 23rd annual “State of Tobacco Control” report evaluates state and federal efforts to eliminate tobacco use and save lives with proven-effective tobacco control laws and policies.

• “State of Tobacco Control” 2025 gave Arizona grades in five areas that have been proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use and save lives:
• • • Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs: F
  • • Strength of Smokefree Workplace Laws: B
  • • Level of State Tobacco Taxes: F
  • • Access to Proven Treatments to Quit Tobacco: C
  • Ending the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products: F

The SOTC report website at www.lung.org/sotc transitioned to 2025 data and content at 12:01 am ET....

Every year, on May 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). The annual campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form.

World No Tobacco Day 2024 will give a platform to young people across the world, who are calling for the tobacco industry to stop targeting them with products that are harmful to their health. Young people globally are calling on governments to adopt policies that shield them from the manipulative practices of tobacco and related industries, including the relentless marketing of their dangerous products through social media and streaming platforms.

Click here (copy and paste) to read more: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day/2024

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To stay competitive, apartment owners are seeking opportunities to provide attractive living amenities aligning with renters’ lifestyles. Smoke-free living is one approach that owners have recognized that can make them more appealing to health-conscious renters, gain an edge in community marketability and enjoy considerable savings in apartment home maintenance and liability. Smoke-free policies greatly reduce smoke-related property damage. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimate turnover cost on a smoking apartment home to be two to seven times that of a smoke-free unit. Typical repairs of a smoked-in unit include replacing carpets, window coverings, appliances and cleaning and re-painting. Maintenance savings typically average $5,000. “From an operator’s standpoint, the decision to move to smoke-free environments was an easy one,” says Yunmi Martin, Senior Vice President of Shea Apartments, which owns and operates more than 8,100 apartment homes in California, Colorado and Washington. “When turning over an apartment, there is considerably more effort involved in making sure that a former smoking unit is clean and ready for its next resident. It’s one less thing for us to worry about.” ...