Health-related proposals target obesity, smoking; none are expected to pass this session

Though several health-related bills have been introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly, including ones that target smoking and obesity, legislators do not expect sweeping overhauls this year.

"I don't look for too much to change during this time," state Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, told The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar. The short session and the fact that it's not a budget year are apparently factors.

Perhaps the most discussed proposal, House Bill 193, would prohibit cigarette use in all enclosed public places and enclosed places of employment, including restaurants, bars and nightclubs. It also bans smoking within a "reasonable" distance outside of public places and work places.

State Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, looks to target childhood obesity with a series of bills that would promote fitness and would measure children's body-mass indices, a height-weight ratio measurement. For more on her efforts, click here.

Making cold medication pseudoephedrine only available by prescription is another health-related proposal with proponents saying it would vastly curb the prevalence of methamphetamine labs in the state. Two similar bills have been proposed to this end, one by state Rep. Linda Belcher, D-Shepherdsville, another by state Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London. (Read more)