Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 2.djvu/669

 PUBLIC LAW 98-468—OCT. 11, 1984

98 STAT. 1829

Public Law 98-468 98th Congress Joint Resolution Designating the month of November 1984 as "National Christmas Seal Month".

Whereas among the fastest rising causes of death in our country are chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. More than seven million Americans, among them over two million children, suffer from asthma. More than two million of our people have emphysema. Almost eight million Americans suffer from chronic bronchitis. Before the end of this decade it is projected that deaths from lung cancer will surpass breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among American women; Whereas one out of twelve, or more than seventeen million Americans are afflicted with chronic diseases of the lung. The consequence is more than two hundred and twenty-five thousand deaths annually, with a cost to the Nation of more than $29,400,000 in medical expenses, lost wages, and untold dollars in lost productivity; Whereas the American Lung Association—the Christmas Seal people—is a nonprofit public health organization supported by individual contributions to Christmas Seals and other donations. It is this Nation's first national voluntary health organization. Founded in 1904 to combat tuberculosis, today the association, its medical section, the American Thoracic Society, and its one hundred and forty-four federated associations throughout the country, are dedicated to the control and prevention of all lung diseases and some of their related causes. These include smoking, air pollution, and occupational lung hazards; Whereas, since 1907, Christmas Seals have been used by the association to raise funds through private contributions, to pioneer and develop health education programs in our schools. The tradition remains strong. This year, sixty million homes will receive Christmas Seals; Whereas this year the association is conducting a new public education program, "Marijuana: A Second Look"—which is targeted to nine, ten, and eleven-year-old children. It is not waiting until marijuana smokers begin suffering from profound lung diseases before it acts. The program is teaching America's youth about the hazards of marijuana smoke to lungs. Once again, the association is taking a leadership role in protecting this country's lung health; and Whereas, through its community lung associations, the American Lung Association helps educate the public, patients, and their families about all forms of lung diseases and their causes, and sponsors community action programs. In the past decade, it has provided more than $10,800,000 for research programs specifically designed to investigate prevention and control of lung diseases. It has pioneered in the development of self-management programs as an adjunct to medical care of asthma both for children and

Oct. 11, 1984 [S.J. Res. 324]

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