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Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
July 31, 2003 Number 102
http://www.californialung.org
CAPITALIZE ON STRENGTHS AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
This yearšs American Lung Association of California Annual Conference offers sessions that will help us Capitalize on Our Strengths, including an inspiring opening session by Assembly Member Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). This yearšs conference is scheduled for September 18 through 20 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. A pre-conference training for the Asthma Friendly Schools Initiative is set for September 18.
There are a variety of sessions to choose from and plenty of opportunities to network and celebrate our accomplishments. The closing session features the provocative Arianna Huffington, who has been in the news recently for her views on SUVs, health and cleaner transportation issues.
Scholarships are available to volunteers and staff to help offset the cost of attending. Applications are due August 22.
Conference and registration materials will be mailed out this week. You can also download them and the entire conference program at http://californialung.org/ALAC/conference.html. Registration is due August 28.
For more information, contact Laura Keegan, MPH, at 510.638.5864 or lkeegan@alac.org.
SAN DIEGO AND SAN FRANCISCO LUNG HEALTH LEADERS TAKE HELM
The American Lung Association of California has named Stephen OšKane, vice president of Childrenšs Hospital and Health Center in San Diego, as chairman of its board of directors. The Rancho Penasquitos resident and former respiratory therapist has spent 28 years serving the association and hopes to use his experience to guide the organization into the future by helping it focus on its strengths.
Michael Stewart Stulbarg, MD, a Professor of Clinical Medicine and holder of the first Endowed Chair in Pulmonary Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, has been selected to lead the California Thoracic Society, the American Lung Association of Californiašs medical section. The Mill Valley resident has served the society for more than 25 years at the state and national levels. He plans to focus on education, for both doctors and patients.
OšKane, who first became involved in the American Lung Association when he was a respiratory therapist in Fresno, plans to work closely with the national American Lung Association to ensure that California is a strong association in the future. He has been appointed to the nationwide Field Operations Committee, which is taking an internal look at program delivery and structure.
For more information, visit http://www.californialung.org/press/030703leadership.html to view a recent news release about the two new leaders.
WORKSHOP ADDRESSES ASTHMA AND DIESEL CONNECTION
What is the connection between asthma and diesel and what can be done about it? An upcoming Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) workshop will address this important issue and discuss ways to reduce the health risks associated with diesel. It is scheduled for October 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at RAMP, 1515 Clay Street, Second Floor, Room 11, in Oakland.
At the end of the workshop, participants will have a better understanding of the relationship between diesel and asthma, learn about some of the different approaches to diesel reduction that could serve as models for activities in your community, and start to connect with people who are working on diesel issues for future collaboration. The workshop will also look at the diesel problem in the Bay Area and discuss media advocacy approaches and key messages.
The workshop will feature a panel of experts from several organizations currently working on these issues, including the American Lung Association, National Resources Defense Council, Coalition for Clean Air, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
For more information, contact Laura Keegan, MPH, at 510.638.5864 or lkeegan@alac.org.
TB GROUPS COLLABORATE ON MEETING AND EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR
The Tuberculosis (TB) Controllers Association and the Francis J. Curry National Tuberculosis Center have joined forces to offer two stellar programs to healthcare professionals at the Doubletree Hotel in Anaheim. Continuing education units are available for both courses.
Tuberculosis Case Management Overview is set for Thursday, September 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will focus on the latest in case management, including medical management, latent infection, screening, and epidemiology. Course faculty includes Barbara Cole, RN, PHN, MSN, who is a board member for the American Lung Association of California and a member of its Tuberculosis Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
TB and the Law will be held on Friday, September 12, from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. The American Lung Association of California is cosponsoring this event, which will discuss TB control laws and constitutional issues surrounding public health law.
For registration materials, visit http://www.ctca.org/confinfo.htm.
For more information, contact Diana Quartermaine at 510.540.2722 or dquarter@dhs.ca.gov.
STATE AGENCIES ADOPT AB 2076 REPORT ON REDUCING PETROLEUM USE
The American Lung Association of California congratulated the California Air Resources Board and the Energy Commission on their recent adoption of the report Reducing California's Petroleum Dependence. The report was required under Assembly Bill 2076 and provides a strategy and goal for reducing petroleum use in California. The goal is to reduce petroleum demand by 15 percent below 2003 levels.
AB 2076, authored by then-Assembly Member Kevin Shelley, requires the Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board to develop and submit to the Legislature a strategy to reduce petroleum dependence in California. The statute requires the strategy to include goals for reducing the rate of growth in the demand for petroleum fuels and include recommendations to increase transportation energy efficiency as well as the use of non-petroleum fuels.
To view the report, visit http://www.energy.ca.gov/fuels/petroleum_dependence/index.html.
For more information, contact Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen@alac.org.
SAN FRANCISCO ASSOCIATION LEADS ASTHMA TASK FORCE
The American Lung Association of San Francisco & San Mateo Counties is working hard in San Francisco to reduce the asthma burden, even though a recent San Francisco Chronicle article neglected to mention that the association not only secured the funds for the San Francisco Asthma Task Force, but also staffs the project. To view the article, visit http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/17/BA297226.DTL.
The task force recently presented its Strategic Plan to the City Services Commission of the Board of Supervisors. Every major TV station in the Bay Area and two radio stations covered the event. The Commission was so impressed they plan to have more hearings to determine the best way to move the plan forward.
Task force recommendations address indoor air quality, zero-emission vehicles, and asthma case tracking in schools.
For more information, contact Beth Saiki at 650.994.5864 or beths@alasfsm.org, or Linda Weiner at 650.994.5864 or lindaw@alasfsm.org.
DECLINE IN SMOKING ON NETWORK TELEVISION DOCUMENTED
The American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails recently announced that smoking on network television has actually declined. Its Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! project, which tracks tobacco depictions in movies and on television, released its report based on data gathered by its trained teenage volunteers that shows a decline in smoking on network television. This decline sharply contrasts with similar research for movies, where smoking remains a common and enduring prop, even in releases aimed at younger audiences.
Teen viewers sampled 271 primetime drama and comedy episodes on six major networks in March 2003. The average for tobacco use incidents each hour dropped to 2.1, down from 4 in 1998. Other encouraging results showed the percentage of leading actors using tobacco dropped from 69 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2003. In addition, 23 of the episodes reviewed used tobacco depictions to convey anti-smoking messages.
For more information, contact Shelley Mitchell at 916.444.5864.or smitchell@saclung.org.
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