United States Environmental Protection Agency
                      Indoor Environments Division (6609J)
                      Washington, DC 20460-0001
                      vvvvw.epa.gov/iaq/asthma
  Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States affecting about 15 million people of all ages,
  and races, particularly children. Join the Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal and non-profit
  organizations by sponsoring an asthma awareness program during May - Asthma Awareness Month — to
  reduce environmental asthma triggers in homes and schools in your community:

  Asthma is a long-term, inflammatory disease in which the airways of the lungs constrict causing wheezing,
  breathlessness; chest tightness, and coughing.  Today, an average of one in 13 school children has asthma.  .
  According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, between 1980 and 1994, the percentage
  of preschool aged children with asthma increased 160 percent, with an alarming 8,000 to 26,000 new asthma
  cases arising each year.

  Exposure to allergens such as dust mites, mold, cockroaches and pet dander can bring on an asthma episode.
  In addition to these allergens, irritants such as secondhand smoke and air pollution can trigger an asthma
  episode. For some people, exposure to environmental triggers may cause the onset of asthma,in early
  childhood. There are simple steps people can take today to reduce their exposure to these triggers and help
  prevent an asthma attack.

  The EPA is partnering with non-profit organizations, such as the American Lung Association, Allergy and
  Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics, PBS-TV station WGBH of Boston, and many others, to teach the
  public how to identify and manage environmental asthma triggers.  Hundreds of asthma awareness events will
  be taking place in schools, libraries, health clinics, hospitals, and State Capitols around the country during May
  to raise awareness about the indoor and outdoor pollutants that trigger asthma episodes, and how to avoid them
  as part of a comprehensive asthma management plan.

  On May 7th, PBS will rebroadcast "Buster's Breathless" from WGBH's four-time Emmy Award-winning kids1'
  series ARTHUR® (check local listings). In this episode, Arthur's best friend, Buster, learns he has asthma.
  WGBH is also creating an asthma supplement for the successful ARTHUR "Hooray For Health!" teachers'
  guide and public television station toolkit. The supplement will focus on incorporating environmental asthma .
  triggers into a comprehensive asthma management: plan, and will be available in EPA's free World Asthma
  Day Event Planning Kit.

  World Asthma Day was established in 1999 by the Global Initiative for Asthma, a joint project between the
  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health
  Organization. Organizations in countries throughout the world are working together to develop special
  activities to increase public awareness of the seriousness of asthma and actions they can take to improve
  asthma care and management.

  Visit EPA's website at www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/wad2002 for information on obtaining a free event planning
  kit, as well as registering your World Asthma Day Event.  Working together, we can help families take control
  of asthma.
WORKING  TOGETHER,  SO EVERYONE CAN  BREATHE  BETTER

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