For States' Stop-Smoking Efforts, A Failing Grade

Here's what we're checking out today:

Tobacco: State budget cuts clearly are taking a toll on publicly-funded stop-smoking programs, as evidenced by a new American Lung Association report that gives 40 states an "F" grade for their tobacco prevention efforts.

Mental Health: The New York Times examines the shrinking state-funded mental health safety net in Arizona and nationwide in the wake of the recent mass shooting in Tucson.  

Cancer Care: Nurse-blogger Amy Berman writes about how the "best care" for her incurable breast cancer isn't the care she wants or needs to preserve her remaining quality of life.

Charity: At the Health Care Renewal blog, Dr. Roy Poses dissects the story of a major medical foundation, reportedly victimized by Bernie Madoff, that wasn't as philanthropic as it purported to be.