05-R 230

2005 -- H 6450

Enacted 05/03/05

 

H O U S E  R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING SUPPORT OF WORLD ASTHMA DAY ON MAY 3, 2005 IN THE STATE

OF RHODE ISLAND

     

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Mumford, Singleton, Gallison, and McNamara

     Date Introduced: May 03, 2005

 

 

     WHEREAS, Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, affecting

about 15 million people; and

     WHEREAS, Asthma is the leading cause of childhood hospitalizations, long-term illness,

and school absenteeism, accounting for more than 10 million missed school days each year; and

     WHEREAS, Each year 2 million people are rushed to the emergency room and 5,000

people die from asthma; and

     WHEREAS, Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease in which the airways of the

lungs constrict, causing wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing; and

     WHEREAS, Exposure to allergens and irritants such as dust mites, mold, cockroaches,

pet dander, and secondhand smoke can bring on an asthma episode; and

     WHEREAS, Secondhand smoke worsens children’s asthma in an estimated 400,000 to

one million children; and

     WHEREAS, There are simple steps people can take to reduce their exposure to

environmental asthma triggers; and

     WHEREAS, The House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency are encouraging Americans to identify and reduce their

exposures to environmental triggers in homes and schools, and incorporate environmental

controls into their asthma management plans; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims support of World Asthma Day on May 3, 2005 in the

State of Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode Island Division of the American

Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association.

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LC03225

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