Breath Matters Monthly e-Newsletter

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Current Issue:

Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
July 31, 2006 Number 137
http://www.californialung.org

Content:

Spare the Air and Flex Your Power
Lung Association Endorses Clean Alternative Energy Act
Two Californians Join Big Ride Across America
Statewide Small-Engine Standards Need to be Nationwide
Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Builds Momentum
Popcorn Factories and Lung Disease
Nationwide Report on State Tobacco Legislation Released
Association-Funded Research Aims to Stamp Out Tuberculosis
Summertime Giving
Tell a Friend

MONTHLY HEALTH TIP

Spare the Air and Flex Your Power: With the summer heat adding to our smog problem and causing isolated blackouts, remember to spare the air by driving less and reducing your energy consumption. For tips on conserving energy, visit www.fypower.org

CALIFORNIA TOBACCO PROJECTS FEATURED AT WORLD CONFERENCE

Several representatives from the American Lung Association in California shared their tobacco control success stories and expertise at the World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in Washington, DC, July 12-15. The conference is held to focus on the latest research and share relevant information on addiction, cessation, public policy, secondhand smoke and smoke-less tobacco.

For more information about the conference, visit http://www.2006conferences.org/t-index.php

Once at the website, you can find a list of American Lung Association participants from California and a description of their projects by clicking on the searchable database and entering “American Lung Association of California.”

TWO CALIFORNIANS JOIN BIG RIDE ACROSS AMERICA

Two Californians are bicycling across America to raise funds for lung disease, including a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle. They are part of the American Lung Association’s Big Ride Across California.

Norman Boice of Roseville and reporter Steve Rubenstein of San Francisco left Seattle on June 26 with about 40 other participants for a 3,000-mile bicycle ride that will end in Washington, DC, on August 12. Boice was only one of two riders to raise more than $12,000.

Rubenstein is keeping a blog while on the Big Ride, which is located at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/category?blogid=27&cat=777

under blogs. He also did a podcast, which can be viewed at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=6612

For more information, call Paul Payton, American Lung Association of Washington, at 206.441.5100 or ppayton@alaw.org

STATEWIDE SMALL-ENGINE STANDARDS NEED TO BE NATIONWIDE

In 2003, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted tough new air quality emission standards for small engines, such as lawnmowers, to help reduce air pollution. The American Lung Association of California is working to ensure the regulations not only continue to be implemented here, but also are adopted for the rest of the country.

The association is urging the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a waiver for California, which is needed to continue implementation because the small-engine regulations go beyond federal regulations. The association is also asking the EPA to implement similar regulations nationwide.
For more information, contact Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen@alac.org

SMOKE-FREE MULTI-UNIT HOUSING BUILDS MOMENTUM

The American Lung Association of California’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing participated in a groundbreaking Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Summit in May that brought together representatives from four states and one Canadian Province to focus on reducing the impact of secondhand smoke on people who live in multi-unit housing.

The Center worked with members of the Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, which sponsored the summit, and the American Lung Association of California’s RESPECT project to plan the daylong meeting. The purpose was to bring together people working on the issue to share strategies, build relationships, share resources, and help move forward smoke-free housing policy initiatives.

For more information, contact Kimberly Weich Reusché at 916.442.4299 or kwreusche@alac.org

POPCORN FACTORIES AND LUNG DISEASE

The California Thoracic Society, the American Lung Association of California’s medical section, is helping to raise awareness about a rare (two cases in California reported as of May 2006) but serious lung disease that has been linked to an ingredient in microwave popcorn. Diacetyl, a flavoring agent used in artificial popcorn butter, has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans.

CTS reviewed a fact sheet created by the California Department of Health Services, Occupational Health Branch, for medical accuracy. The fact sheet describes the health risks and ways to reduce exposure to diacetyl.
Labor groups are concerned about the risks of diacetyl for workers at popcorn factories and other manufacturing plants where the chemical is used. Consumers are not thought to be at risk because they are exposed to far lower amounts of diacetyl.

For more information, visit http://www.thoracic.org/sections/chapters/ca/current-news/index.html

NATIONWIDE REPORT ON STATE TOBACCO LEGISLATION RELEASED

The American Lung Association released its latest State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues: 2005 report, which summarizes current tobacco laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The report highlights major accomplishments in state tobacco control policy in 2005, lists relevant tobacco control legislation passed in each state and the District of Columbia, and presents a two-page glance at key state tobacco control information.

To view the report, visit http://slati.lungusa.org

For more information, contact Paul Knepprath at 916.442.4446 or pknepprath@alac.org

LUNG ASSOCIATION-FUNDED RESEARCH AIMS TO STAMP OUT TUBERCULOSIS

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a serious public health threat, killing nearly 2 million people worldwide each year. A UC Berkeley researcher is trying to find a way to combat drug-resistant strains.

Christoph Grunder, Ph.D., is studying the bacteria that cause TB to determine how certain proteins help them survive among immune system cells that usually eliminate bacterial infections. A better understanding of this mechanism could lead to medicines that target these proteins so the immune system can fight off the TB bacteria.

His project is one of 12 funded by the American Lung Association of California, which granted more than $300,000 to lung disease research in fiscal year 2006-2007.

For more information about funded projects, visit http://californialung.org/research/research.html

SUMMERTIME GIVING

Celebrate the joys of summer with a gift to the American Lung Association in honor of your summertime party guests. To donate, visit http://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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