The City of Ludlow and a local substance-abuse prevention educator were honored this week for their work on smoke-free policy in NKY.
Casey Baker-Romans, a substance abuse prevention educator with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, joined Ludlow Mayor Sarah Thompson in accepting the awards at the conference.
The awards were issued by the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy and the Kentucky Tobacco Prevention & Cessation Program at the annual Kentucky Tobacco Control Conference in April. The conference took place in Lexington.
Ludlow was awarded the “Everette Varney Smoke-free Indoor Air Excellence Award” for passing a smoke-free ordinance last year. Dayton, Bellevue and Highland Heights have passed similar ordinances.
Additionally, Casey Baker-Romans, a substance abuse prevention educator with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, was awarded the “David B. Stevens, MD, Smoke-free Advocate of the Year Award” for her work in educating people about the risks of second-hand smoke and the benefits of smoke-free policies. Baker-Romans first piloted a program called Ditch Vapes in 2024 about the risks of e-cigarettes. The program has since expanded.
You can read more about the conference here.