| R 223 |
| 2021 -- H 6295 Enacted 05/04/2021 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| COMMEMORATING MAY 4, 2021, AS "WORLD ASTHMA DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Representatives Batista, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Williams, Cortvriend, Perez, Tanzi, Cardillo, Place, and Nardone |
| Date Introduced: May 04, 2021 |
| 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, Approximately 25 million Americans have asthma. Approximately eight |
| percent of adults have asthma and seven percent of children have asthma, which is the leading |
| chronic disease in children; and |
| WHEREAS, African-American children are three times more likely to have asthma than |
| white children and African-Americans are three times more likely to die from asthma than white |
| Americans; and |
| WHEREAS, In 2016, asthma accounted for 9.8 million doctor’s office visits, and in |
| 2018, asthma accounted for 178,530 discharges from hospital inpatient care and 1.6 million |
| emergency department visits; and |
| WHEREAS, From 2008 to 2013, the annual economic cost of asthma was $81.9 billion, |
| including medical costs and loss of work and school days. Among children aged 5 to 17, asthma |
| is one of the top causes of missed school days; and |
| WHEREAS, Worldwide, it was estimated in 2016 that 339 million people have asthma |
| and 417,918 deaths occurred due to asthma; and |
| WHEREAS, World Asthma Day was established in 1988. It is organized by GINA, the |
| Global Initiative for Asthma, which works with health care groups across the globe to help raise |
| awareness of asthma. Today, World Asthma Day is widely considered to be the world’s most |
| important Asthma awareness event; and |
| WHEREAS, The 2021 World Asthma Day theme is "Uncovering Asthma |
| Misconceptions." The goal is to expose the commonly held but dangerous falsehoods surrounding |
| asthma such as the belief that asthma is infectious, that asthma sufferers should not exercise, that |
| asthma can only be controlled with high dose steroids, or that asthma is a childhood disease, one |
| that individuals will grow out of as they age; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby |
| commemorates May 4, 2021 as "World Asthma Day"; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Louis-Philippe Boulet MD, Chair of the Board |
| of Directors of the Global Initiative For Asthma. |
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| LC002775 |
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