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,

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.

========

LC002775

========