Breath Matters Monthly e-Newsletter

Keep up-to-date on our work to prevent lung disease and promote lung health by subscribing to our free email newsletter. You'll get news every month on asthma, chronic brochitis and emphysema, TB, smoking and tobacco control, and more.

Current Issue:

Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
May 31, 2007 Number 148
http://www.californialung.org

Content:

Get the Facts About Biodiesel
Air Board Considers Regulations to Cut Diesel Emissions
Free Asthma Workshops Offered in Central Valley
Linda Regan Honored with Nationwide Volunteer Award
Fresno Event Spotlights Cancer in Diverse Communities
Students Join Association to Stop Smokeless Tobacco Giveaways
Study Aims to Control Lung Scarring and Fluid Buildup
Bicycling Events Offer Fun Ride and Scenic Countryside
Honor A Special Dad With a Father�s Day Donation
Tell a Friend

MONTHLY HEALTH TIP

Get the Facts About Biodiesel Is biodiesel the answer to reducing vehicle emissions or is it just another source of air pollution? Learn the facts by checking out the American Lung Association of California�s frequently asked questions document at http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/BiodieselFAQ.pdf

AIR BOARD CONSIDERS REGULATIONS TO CUT DIESEL EMISSIONS

The American Lung Association of California is actively supporting new statewide regulations to cut diesel emissions from construction and other off-road equipment currently under consideration by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Association volunteers Mike Kelly, MD, and Alexander Greiner, MD, urged CARB members to adopt the regulations at a May 25 hearing in San Diego, more than 400 American Lung Association of California e-advocates sent letters supporting the measure, and association staff have met with CARB members and legislators to urge strong support of the regulations. Dr. Kelly is a physician at Kaiser and clinical co-chair of the San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition while Dr. Greiner is co-director of the Allergy and Asthma Medical Group and Research Center. Both Dr. Kelly and Bonnie Holmes-Gen were quoted in a San Diego Union Tribune article about the proposed regulations. To read the article, visit http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070526/news_1n26diesel.html.

These regulations will achieve a 75-percent reduction in health-damaging diesel soot from off-road equipment covered by the rule and are desperately needed to protect public health. Most construction equipment today has absolutely no pollution controls and can be used for 30 years or more.

For the CARB staff report and fact sheets, visit http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/documents.htm

For more information, contact Linda Weiner at 415.282.8871 or linwiner@earthlink.net or Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen@alac.org

FREE ASTHMA WORKSHOPS OFFERED IN CENTRAL VALLEY

To help reduce the impact of adult asthma throughout the Central Valley, where asthma rates are high, the American Lung Association of California offered a series of free asthma education workshops for adults in Fresno, Merced, Modesto and Porterville areas. �Breathe Well Live Well� is an innovative American Lung Association adult asthma program designed to build knowledge and self-management skills for people recently diagnosed with asthma or uncontrolled asthma.

The workshops were held in Merced, Fresno, and Modesto in May. The fourth workshop is scheduled for June 16 in Porterville.

For more information, contact Susie Rico at 559.222.4800 or srico@alac.org

LINDA REGAN HONORED WITH NATIONWIDE VOLUNTEER AWARD

Linda Regan walked in the door to the American Lung Association of California�s office in Santa Rosa in May 2004 offering to volunteer. The former smoker, on oxygen 24 hours a day, was awaiting a lung transplant after having been diagnosed with end-stage emphysema.

�After about a year went by, I realized I wasn�t helpless, so I went down to the American Lung Association and offered my services,� she says. �I thought maybe I could keep kids from smoking.�

Instead she found her calling working with others like herself who suffer from chronic lung disease, taking it upon herself to telephone every member of the Better Breathers program, many of whom can�t leave their homes due to difficulty breathing. Through her care, initiative, and compassion, Linda has built the Better Breathers program into an effective outreach program, and increased attendance at meetings. More importantly, she has become the face and voice behind the American Lung Association encouraging people with lung disease to get out and do more.

To read more about Linda, visit http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=365901

FRESNO EVENT SPOTLIGHTS CANCER IN DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

The American Lung Association of California joined forces with the American Cancer Society to spotlight the need to reduce and eliminate the unequal burden of cancer among the diverse communities in the Central Valley at an April 20 media event in Fresno that was covered by three local television stations.

Increased awareness is needed because recent published reports have indicated that African Americans and other medically underserved minorities have significantly higher cancer incidence and mortality rates than white Americans due to a lack of access to quality care, low enrollment in clinical trials, language and cultural barriers, and disproportionate numbers of medically uninsured or underinsured.

For more information, contact Michelle Garcia at 559.222.4800 or mgarcia@alac.org

STUDENTS JOIN ASSOCIATION TO STOP SMOKELESS TOBACCO GIVEAWAYS

Fed up by smoke-less tobacco giveaways in local bars, a group of students at Chico State University, united as the Tobacco Action Group, joined the American Lung Association of California in urging the Chico City Council to pass an ordinance that would end the free distribution of tobacco in Chico.

The students are tired of the U.S Smokeless Tobacco Company marketing its deadly product to their age group at three local bars. Between 2003 and 2006 the smokeless tobacco company had 95 scheduled bar night promotions in Chico.

For more information, contact Shelly Brantley at 530.345.5864 or sbrantley@alac.org

STUDY AIMS TO CONTROL LUNG SCARRING AND FLUID BUILDUP

A researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, is studying a protein that he hopes is the key to reducing pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lung, and pulmonary edema, fluid accumulation in the lung that causes swelling. Mark Travis, MD, is trying to determine how a type of protein found on the surface of nearly all cells activates another protein that plays an important role in both pulmonary fibrosis and edema.

His project is one of 12 funded by the American Lung Association of California, which granted nearly $700,000 to lung disease research in fiscal year 2006-2007.

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

BICYCLING EVENTS OFFER FUN RIDE AND SCENIC COUNTRYSIDE

Two Breathe Easy Rides to raise funds for lung disease research, advocacy and education are scheduled for June. The events offer a fun ride, scenic countryside, and the opportunity to make a difference.

The Santa Barbara Breathe Easy Ride on June 22, 23, and 24 takes riders on a tour of Santa Barbara County�s magnificent wine country. One or three-day routes are available. Food, entertainment and sag support are provided.

The Two Rock Breathe Easy Ride is scheduled for June in Rohnert Park. Cyclists and teams will choose from a 10, 35, or 65-mile route through the beautiful back roads of Sonoma and Marin counties; highlighting the towns of West Petaluma, Two Rock, Tomales, and Sebastopol.

For more details on both rides, visit http://www.breatheeasyride.org

For additional information, contact Trina Ramirez at 707.527.5864 or tramirez@alac.org, or Shirley Fee sfee@alac.org, for the Two Rock ride and Donna Beal at 805.963.1426 or donna@lungsbv.org for the Santa Barbara ride.

HONOR A SPECIAL DAD WITH A FATHER�S DAY DONATION Honor your dad and/or special friend with a Father�s Day tribute donation to the American Lung Association. It�s a simple yet meaningful gift. 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.

###

E-News Archive

Call 1-800-LUNG-USA to connect automatically to your local American Lung Association office.

©1999-2002 American Lung Association of California
424 Pendleton Way, Oakland, CA 94621
tel: (510) 638-LUNG, fax: (510) 638-8984, e-mail: info@californialung.org.