News Materials

Current news and information about the Coalition, asthma, respiratory diseases, environmental issues and access to healthcare will appear in this section, as they become available.

Tell Your Lawmaker to Support the  Family Asthma Act!

The American Lung Association encourages you to write your lawmaker and ask for their support on the Family Asthma Act (S. 2175/H.R.3904).  This measure, introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Senate and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy in the House of Representatives, calls for much-needed research into the factors contributing to asthma and the alarming effects of this condition on the health of Americans - particularly children, minorities, women and the elderly.  

Over 22 million Americans currently have asthma, including more than six million children.  Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness among children in the U.S. and the third-leading cause of hospitalization among kids under 15 years of age.  It also results in almost 13 million days of missed school annually.  Asthma takes a significant toll on the public, increasing absenteeism from work, as well as the financial burden of asthma treatment. 

The Family Asthma Act would require that asthma surveillance activities be conducted so that critical information on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the effectiveness of public health asthma interventions, and the quality of asthma management is collected.  The legislation would also require greater federal coordination to create a national plan to com bat asthma. 

Please ask your Congressperson or Senator to support the Family Asthma Act using the letter provided. Their leadership is vitally important on this critical public health issue.

Horizon on PBS Talks About Asthma

The PBS program Horizon interviewed two Arizona Asthma Coalition members on Monday, June 23, 2007.  The interviews are posted on-line at the PBS website: 

http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/watch.asp#

You can also go to the link below and check the On-Line Video link:

http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/schedule.asp

Dr. Allan Wachter and Magda Ciocazan from the Arizona Department of Health Services, both members of the Arizona Asthma Coalition, were interviewed on the PBS program Horizon.  They discussed the high rates of asthma in Arizona, triggers and highlighted the work of the Arizona Asthma Coalition and the Maricopa County Coalition.

New 2007 NIH Asthma Guidelines Published

Dr. Stuart Stoloff spoke about the new Asthma Guidelines on KTAR Radio.  Dr. Stoloff was the keynote speaker at the 2006 Arizona Asthma Conference.  In his discussion on KTAR, Dr. Stoloff mentioned the work of the Arizona Asthma Coalition.

Anaphylaxis and Asthma

Early food allergies can look like asthma.
Read the most current thinking about the relationship between anaphylaxis and asthma. 

Anaphylaxis Looks Like Asthma