Breath Matters Monthly e-Newsletter October 31, 2005 Number 129

Breath Matters Monthly e-Newsletter

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Current Issue:

Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
October 31, 2005 Number 129
http://www.californialung.org

Content:

Find Your Nearest Flu Shot Clinic
Air Board Adopts Policy to Limit Diesel Idling, Reduce Emissions
East Bay Launches Flu Campaign on Public Transit
San Diego Asthma Coalition Releases Asthma Report Card
Association Works to Increase Smoke-Free Housing Units
Kirsch Foundation Grant to Help Reduce Diesel Exhaust
Researcher Studies Protein Linked to Pulmonary Fibrosis
Giving Thanks
Tell a Friend

MONTHLY HEALTH TIP

Find your nearest Flu Shot Clinic for free by visiting www.californialung.org and entering your ZIP code on the right side of the homepage under the words: “Enter your ZIP code to find a flu clinic near you.”

AIR BOARD ADOPTS POLICY TO LIMIT DIESEL IDLING, REDUCE EMISSIONS

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a new policy earlier this month closing the gap in the five-minute idling limit set last year by requiring shutoff devices that automatically turn off the engines after five minutes in all new trucks starting in 2008. It will also require trucks with sleeper cabs to use an alternative to truck idling for heating and cooling the truck cab. The American Lung Association of California supported the new rule because it will reduce toxic diesel emissions and help cut fuel consumption and global warming gases.

The policy was adopted on the heals of “Don’t Sit Idle,” a successful effort in the Bay Area to draw attention to the diesel idling issue. The goal was to educate truck and bus drivers, as well as community residents in neighborhoods in San Francisco, West Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro, about the California anti-idling law and its impact on public health. Local American Lung Associations joined in the campaign as part of the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative, which brought together elected officials, community and labor leaders for a news conference in Oakland, where residents face diesel emissions 40 times the state average.

For more information, contact Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen@alac.org or Linda Weiner at 650.994.5864 or lindaw@alasfsm.org.

EAST BAY LAUNCHES FLU CAMPAIGN ON PUBLIC TRANSIT

The American Lung Association of the East Bay is launching a campaign to raise awareness about influenza and its impact on asthma as well as promote the American Lung Association’s nationwide Flu Shot Locator. The campaign features billboards at eight BART stations and 15 Alameda County Transit buses and includes messages in both English and Spanish.

The public service ads tell readers: “The flu is a major cause of asthma attacks. Get a flu shot for your child today.” They include the 800 number and Web site address to find the nearest flu shot location.

For more information, contact Patrik Nyland at 510.893.5474 or pnylund@alaebay.org.

SAN DIEGO ASTHMA COALITION RELEASES ASTHMA REPORT CARD

The San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition, staffed by the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, called for stronger asthma management when it released its second annual Asthma Report Card for the San Diego area. The report card assesses the impact of asthma on the county, tracking the number of deaths, 911 calls, and hospitalizations due to asthma, and reviews the factors that contribute to the chronic lung disease.

Approximately 11 percent of San Diego County residents have been diagnosed with asthma and it hits some populations harder than others, according to the report card. For example, the asthma mortality rate for African Americans is nearly four times higher than average.

To view the report card, visit www.sdrac.org/pdfs/2005AsthmaReportCard.pdf

For more information, contact Ross Porter at 619.297.3901 or rporter@lungsandiego.org.

ASSOCIATION WORKS TO INCREASE SMOKE-FREE HOUSING UNITS

Thanks to a Proposition 99 grant, the American Lung Association of the East Bay is working to increase smoke-free units in multi-unit housing complexes in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano Counties. The project goal is to increase the number of city and county jurisdictions that adopt and implement mandatory policies designed to reduce the involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke in common areas and in individual units.

In Alameda and Contra Costa, the association is working closely with nonprofit residential management companies that oversee multi-unit housing for seniors, providing resources and technical assistance to those who want to develop smoke-free policies. In Solano, the project is working directly with tenants and the management company at the city of Vallejo’s Sereno Village low-income housing complex to build support for complex-wide smoke-free policies.
For more information, contact Serena Chen at 510.893.5474 or schen@alaebay.org.

KIRSCH FOUNDATION GRANT TO HELP REDUCE DIESEL EXHAUST

The American Lung Association of California received a $16,250 grant from the Kirsch Foundation to help fund its clean school bus outreach efforts in the Central Valley through August 30, 2006. Based on the 2003-2004 California school bus inventory, 15 percent of the state's approximately 1,000 pre-1977 school buses are in use in Fresno County.

The association plans to work with schools in Fresno County, and two other counties in the San Joaquin Valley, to encourage them to apply for available funds and replace 10 to 20 percent of their pre-1977 dirty diesel school buses.
For more information, please contact Vandana Bali at 415.775.1065 or vbali@alac.org.

RESEARCHER STUDIES PROTEIN LINKED TO PULMONARY FIBROSIS

A researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, is working on a project that could someday lead to more targeted treatments for pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and largely untreatable group of disorders characterized by shortness of breath, loss of lung function, and respiratory failure.

Geraldine Mollet, Ph.D., is studying a specific protein that plays a critical role in the repair of lung injury. In pulmonary fibrosis, the hyperactivity of this protein leads to the development of scar tissue in the lungs, so she is investigating a molecule that activates it. The study is one of 17 research projects funded by the American Lung Association of California in FY 2005-2006.

Visit http://www.californialung.org/research/fund.html for more information about the association’s research program.

GIVING THANKS Let your family and friends know how much you appreciate them this Thanksgiving by making a special donation in their honor at http://www.californialung.org/donate/donate.html

TELL A FRIEND Forward this e-newsletter to friends, family and business contacts. Encourage them to subscribe for free at http://www.californialung.org. Signing up is easy. Just enter your e-mail address at the upper left corner of the Web site homepage below the logo.

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