TOP NEWS
Promoting Zero Emission School Buses at U.S. Capitol: As part of our advocacy efforts to convince Congress to invest in transitioning school buses nationwide from diesel to electric, we held a stand-up press conference on September 14 on Capitol Hill. We had an electric school bus there, and U.S. Senator Tom Carper, other members of Congress, and representatives from national children’s health and nursing organizations joined us to speak. Each highlighted the health benefits of zero-emission, electric school buses and called on Congress to make the switch. Want to help? Join us in calling on Congress to invest in a healthier future. It’s quick and easy.
Healthcare Open Enrollment Begins November 1: Everyone needs quality and affordable healthcare. Open enrollment to sign up for healthcare coverage through Healthcare.gov runs from November 1 to January 15 in most states. Healthcare.gov offers quality and affordable plans that cover important services like tobacco cessation treatment, lung cancer screening and COVID-19 vaccines at no cost. Visit lung.org/openenrollment for more information and visit healthcare.gov to enroll in coverage.
Our Website is Now Available in Spanish!
We have just added a new language translation option to our website Lung.org. We’re working to make our lung health content available in multiple languages. We have started with Spanish and will add new languages in subsequent phases.
- You will find the translation selector on the upper right side of Lung.org, on every page. See image.
- Use the drop down to select your language (currently only Spanish).
- Site content switches to Spanish. Includes translation of menus, navigation, buttons in addition to main content text.
2022 Firefighter Calendar available now!
Order your 2022 Firefighter Calendar today! Hot off the presses and available while supplies last, the calendar honors firefighters that competed in their local Fight For Air Climbs to raise awareness and funds to support our vision of a world free of lung disease. The calendar features top firefighting fundraisers, fire-safety tips, stats on how fires affect our lung health and more.
Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from COVID-19
COVID-19 cases are surging in many parts of the country. The Lung Association has tools in information to help keep you safe!
- Guidance on Mask Wearing
- Our “Better for It” COVID-19 vaccine toolkits can help you make a well-informed decision about COVID-19 vaccination.
- COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs
- COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker has information to help you stay informed about the safety and availability of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Please GIVE to the COVID-19 Action Fund so we can help end COVID-19 and defend against future respiratory viruses.
Find the latest at Lung.org/covid19 and be sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram social channels and share these timely resources to your network.
Check Out our Latest Lungcast™: Lungcast is a pulmonary podcast series by the American Lung Association and HCPLive. For our newest Lungcast™ episode, we are pleased to be joined by infectious disease experts Dr. Michael Greenberg of Sanofi Pasteur and Dr. Richard (Rick) Nettles of Johnson & Johnson to discuss respiratory virus immunization. Their enlightening discussion touches upon many hot topics and offers insight into how unprecedented collaboration and transparency have raised the research bar. Tune into the interview at: Lung.org/lungcast
SUPPORT THE LUNG ASSOCIATION
Join an Event and Support the Lung Association! Looking for an opportunity to support the Lung Association’s lifesaving Mission? Fall events are in full force! Safety is our top priority, so we’ve reimagined our events to provide the experience you know and love, while following CDC recommendations. Get involved today by raising funds and awareness in your community. We know you'll find an event to enjoy. Right now, your support is more important than ever! Find an event near you and register today.
You Can Make a Difference with a Vehicle Donation: Vehicle donations to the Lung Association have the potential to bring significant funds to important research, education and advocacy that can help save lives. We accept cars, trucks, motorcycles trailers, boats and more! Our Vehicle Donation Program makes donating easy with free pick-up and support with all of the paperwork. Each vehicle donation is tax deductible.
PATIENT SUPPORT
Help Controlling Childhood Asthma: We are raising awareness about six effective strategies to control childhood asthma. Read more about the Lung Association programs and services that we offer and download the CDC’s Guide for People with Asthma, Their Families, and Their Caregivers. Visit Lung.org/afe
Long COVID Support Community: We are pleased to announce the launch of new community on the Inspire platform called Living with Long COVID. This community will allow those facing long COVID and their loved ones to connect with other people in their shoes for peer-to-peer support. It joins our ten other online support communities on Inspire. The full list is available at www.lung.org/community. One key benefit of this community is it allows users to remain anonymous, while still benefiting from much needed social support. If you or someone you know is facing long COVID or has questions about it, please encourage them to join the Living with Long COVID community.
LUNG CANCER
Virtual LUNG FORCE Expo: Our next nationwide virtual LUNG FORCE Expo will take place on Wednesday, December 8 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. CT. The event is designed for healthcare professionals to learn more about the latest trends, resources and research surrounding lung health. New this year, our virtual LUNG FORCE Expo will focus exclusively on lung cancer topics. Please share this information with anyone who might be interested in attending. Additionally, staff are welcome to register using this discount code: ES120821. Make sure to register using your personal email address to ensure you receive event reminders. For details, visit the event page.
RESEARCH
Spotlight on Published Research: Is depression linked to worse health outcomes in COPD patients? A recent study by several Lung Association-funded researchers, including Gerald Criner, M.D., Mark Dransfield, M.D., MeiLan Han, M.D., and Jerry Krishnan, M.D., Ph.D., published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society suggested that depressive symptoms are linked more closely to worse patient reported outcomes as compared to pulmonary function. Mental health may be as impactful as clinical measures on COPD patient outcomes. This finding is important because it encourages physicians to recognize and incorporate the impact of depression while creating individualized care plans for COPD patients. These findings are consistent with an ACRC study noting that depression is linked with poorly controlled asthma in obese patients.
ADVOCACY
Youth E-Cigarette Use Remains at Critical Levels: Data from the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underscore need for FDA to act quickly to remove flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol from the market, and assert its drug jurisdiction over synthetic nicotine. You can help by telling President Biden to act quickly to remove menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
FDA Rejects More Flavored Tobacco Products, Still No Announcement on Juul: As we reported last month, FDA missed a court-ordered deadline of September 9 on whether Juul and many other tobacco products, which make up over three quarters of e-cigarette products could stay on the market. The Lung Association is a plaintiff in the court case that imposed this deadline. While it has rejected more applications from smaller e-cigarette companies to keep their products on the market, FDA has still made no decision about Juul and other major manufacturers. The harm these products cause to youth shows that they fail to meet the Tobacco Control Act’s public health standard. It is urgent that the Biden Administration follow the science and act to remove all remaining flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from the marketplace. The Lung Association and several partners sent a letter to FDA requesting they take concrete actions.
EACH BREATH BLOG
In our new blog, Perry L. shares how he was inspired to use his role as a firefighter in New Jersey to honor the memory of his cousin Ann, who he lost to lung cancer, and raise awareness of lung cancer one step at a time. Perry has since been diagnosed with lung cancer himself, and he is more driven than ever to help others by raising awareness and funds for research. Looking for a way to honor our great firefighter volunteers? Check out our new 2022 Firefighter Calendar. They make great gifts!
Your support is more important than ever!
COVID-19 has given a new and more urgent meaning to our catch phrase, When You Can’t Breathe, Nothing Else Matters®. Because of your support, we are conducting research to discover new ways to prevent, treat and even cure lung diseases like COVID-19, COPD, lung cancer and more. Your support makes our diverse and lifesaving work possible. Thank you for all you do to help during this most critical time!
Blog last updated: August 21, 2023
