Breath Matters Monthly e-Newsletter

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Current Issue:

Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
December 30, 2005 Number 131
http://www.californialung.org

Content:

Know Someone Who Wants to Quit Smoking at No Cost?
E-Advocates Urge CARB to Reduce Diesel Emissions at Ports
East Bay Asthma Study Highlighted in Pediatric Medical Journal
San Joaquin Air District Passes Landmark ‘City Sprawl’ Rule
Freedom From Smoking Facilitator Training Scheduled for January
Christmas Seal Collection on Display in Tiburon
Researcher Studies Gene’s Role in Asthma Development
Donations That Give the Holidays Meaning
Tell a Friend

MONTHLY HEALTH TIP

New Year’s Resolutions: Know Someone Who Wants to Quit Smoking at No Cost? With the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking Online, you can quit smoking online anytime at no cost. Download free ads/posters featuring Carol Burnett to promote Freedom From Smoking at your workplace at http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/ffs2002_ads.html.

E-ADVOCATES URGE CARB TO REDUCE DIESEL EMISSIONS AT PORTS

More than 375 American Lung Association of California e-advocates were successful in their supporting efforts to urge the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to adopt two important measures to reduce deadly diesel emissions at California ports. Adopted on December 8, the new regulations will control emissions from mobile cargo handling equipment such as yard trucks and forklifts that operate at ports and intermodal rail yards and reduce dirty diesel emissions from auxiliary diesel engines and diesel-electric engines operated on ocean-going vessels (such as cruise ships) located within California waters.

For details about the new measures, visit http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/nr120805.htm

To view the American Lung Association of California's "Public Health and Diesel" fact sheet, visit http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/diesel_health.html

For more information, contact: Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen@alac.org.

EAST BAY ASTHMA STUDY HIGHLIGHTED IN PEDIATRIC MEDICAL JOURNAL

Oakland Kicks Asthma, a project of the American Lung Association of the East Bay, has published an article in December's Pediatric Allergy and Immunology journal. The article compares parent and child asthma surveys and concludes that children report more symptoms than their parents are aware of. The goal of the study was to determine whether there were meaningful and systematic differences in asthma classification based on symptom and diagnosis reports obtained separately from students and their parents. Findings indicated that students reported asthma indicators more frequently than parents with the exception of medication.

For more information, contact Adam Davis, MA, MPH, at 510.893.5474 or adavis@alaebay.org.

SAN JOAQUIN AIR DISTRICT PASSES LANDMARK ‘CITY SPRAWL’ RULE

San Joaquin Valley became the first place in the nation to take on air pollution created by city sprawl. Compelled by state law and prodded by activists, including the American Lung Association of Central California, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Board approved unprecedented rules to curb pollution, despite vigorous opposition from builders.

The goal is to reduce air pollution caused by traffic going back and forth from new homes, businesses, commercial buildings and even school buildings constructed on the edge of town. The valley already suffers from some of the dirtiest air in the nation and soaring asthma rates.

Under the new law, builders can install air-enhancing features such as outdoor outlets for electric lawnmowers, bike lanes and energy-efficient water heaters to help reduce fees that will be assessed for traffic pollution. Officials estimate the rules will raise $103 million in the next three years, which will be used to buy cleaner-fueled buses and street sweepers, as well as pay for other measures to reduce the smog, dust and soot that make the San Joaquin Valley one of the worst air basins in the country.

For more information, contact Josette Merced Bello at 559.222.4800 or josette@amerilungcencal.org.

FREEDOM FROM SMOKING FACILITATOR TRAINING SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY

The American Lung Association of California, Valley Lode Branch, will host a Freedom From Smoking Facilitator Training Workshop January 19-20 in Stockton. Staff and volunteers who want to help people quit smoking are encouraged to attend.

Space is limited, so register early. Contact Lynn Devine (ldevine@alac.org) or Elaine Lucero (elaine@alacsb.org) for registration materials.

For more information, contact Elaine Lucero at 530.345.5666 or 530.345.5864.

CHRISTMAS SEAL COLLECTION ON DISPLAY IN TIBURON

A private collection of the American Lung Association’s trademark Christmas Seals, the fundraising stamp that helped launch the organization’s campaign to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) as well as the nation’s first public health campaign, will be on display at the Phillips Library in Tiburon through January 3.

The collection includes the first TB Seal sold in Denmark in 1904, the first Christmas Seal sold in the United States in 1907, and memorabilia from the American Lung Association’s annual campaign to wipe out lung disease. The display is from the private collection of Ruth and Lawrence Stotter of Tiburon.

The two have been collectors of stamps and Christmas memorabilia since their youth. Larry was a victim of tuberculosis as a boy and an early beneficiary of the cures made available from the sale of Christmas Seals.

In the early 1900s, tuberculosis was the leading killer in the United States. The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, later to become the American Lung Association, was founded in 1904 to conquer what was then called the White Plague. The first Christmas Seal in the United States was created in 1907 for Emily Bissell to raise $300 to keep a tuberculosis sanitorium in Delaware open through the winter. The colorful stamps sold for a penny apiece. Her campaign was so successful it raised $3,000 and launched the fight against tuberculosis. Since then, the American Lung Association’s Christmas Seals have been helping the more than 35 million Americans living with lung disease.

For more information, contact Jenny Bard at 707.527.5864 or jbard@alac.org.

RESEARCHER STUDIES GENE’S ROLE IN ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT

While asthma symptoms can be controlled by medication, there is no cure for the chronic lung disease. Meixia Zhou, Ph.D., is hoping that a newly discovered gene will help scientists find a way to prevent or even cure the lung ailment that affects more than 2 million Californians. The Stanford University researcher received a grant from the American Lung Association of California to study the gene, which appears to play a critical role in regulating asthma.

To learn more about other important research studies funded by the American Lung Association of California, visit http://www.californialung.org/press/050927LungDisease.html

DONATIONS THAT GIVE THE HOLIDAYS MEANING

Wish your friends and family a Happy New Year with cards and gifts that have real meaning. Celebrate the season and promote good lung health for all by sending American Lung Association holiday cards and gifts this year. For more information, visit http://www.christmasseals.org/?tr=y&auid=1254376

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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tel: (510) 638-LUNG, fax: (510) 638-8984, e-mail: info@californialung.org.