February 24 was Tobacco Free Day at the Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. What a day it was - a record 900 RAZE youth tobacco coalition members descended upon the capitol to bring a tobacco-free message to lawmakers from across the state. A small but mighty force in the crowd for the day was a group of two dozen American Heart Association advocates who joined in the tobacco-free message and also talked with legislators about HB 4327 to require pulse oximetry screening for newborns.
West Virginia – Leading the Way
- Along with WV’s “Heart Moms,” we celebrated passage of House Bill 4327, also known as “Corbin’s Law.” This bill mandates pulse oximetry testing for all newborns. Pulse oximetry is a simple, inexpensive, painless bedside test to determine pulse rate and the amount of oxygen in a newborn baby’s blood, which can help detect a critical congenital heart defect before a baby is released from the hospital.
- Additionally, we worked to continue building the case for increasing West Virginia’s tobacco taxes to decrease use rates and provide funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. We are optimistic regarding the passage of a tax bill in the 2013 session.
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