|
May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. Unlike Mother’s Day where we show love to our mothers, or Memorial Day, where we honor the sacrifice of fallen soldiers, with Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, we highlight how common it is, and the challenges and risks facing those with one of the most common chronic lung diseases.
Over 23 million adults and nearly 5 million children have been diagnosed with asthma. Yet despite it being common and treatable, asthma is the cause of nearly 4,000 deaths each year. Sadly, most of these deaths are preventable.
It’s no accident, though, that May was also the month we chose to hold our Breath of Life Awards to highlight and celebrate champions of clean air and lung health. Spending an evening with community leaders to remind them how valued they are felt gratifying and necessary.
Given how this year began with horrendous and unprecedented wildfires that many are still recovering from, we saw how quickly the priority on lung health was moved front and center, especially for those suffering from lung conditions. The wildfires sounded a visceral alarm on the importance of the air we breathe and ensuring the quality of our air. For millions of people who don’t think twice about our region’s air quality, despite it being among the worst in the nation, the invisible was made visible.
Our lungs are the gateway to literal and better living through the air we inhale. But when the air we inhale is filled with thick wildfire smoke, containing the vaporized toxic residue of every natural and man-made item that once existed in an entire neighborhood, we can easily understand the threat that polluted air places on our health, and reality that our environment matters.
It was a long overdue evening to honor those who are truly making a difference and fighting the good fight by promoting clean air and lung health solutions like zero emission trucking, public transportation, clean energy, and eliminating tobacco use.
| 
