How Healthy Is the Air You Breathe?
For six out of ten Americans, the news isn’t good

What’s the state of your air?  Is it healthy?  Or too often a noxious mix of chemicals and particles that can damage your lungs and even shorten your life?  The American Lung Association’s tenth annual State of the Air Report shows what’s in our air—by location— and how the air we breathe continues to threaten the lives and health of millions of Americans.

Grand Rapids Asthma Walk

Saturday, Jun 13, 2009
Ah Nab Awen Park, Grand Rapids
Registration at 9am, Walk Starts at 10am

The American Lung Association's Asthma Walks raise money to fight asthma and lung disease in all its forms through education, research and advocacy. Why? The statistics are staggering. More than 35 million Americans struggle to breathe because of lung disease and everyone is affected in some way.

Click here to register for the Grand Rapids Asthma Walk!

Camp SUPERKIDS

In a time of economic hardship for so many families, the American Lung Association of the Midland States has a great deal for parents and children struggling to deal with asthma. The association is offering a free week- long, medically staffed camp this summer just for kids who have asthma.

Camp Superkids will be held July 17-22, 2009 at the Center for Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY. It is open to children with asthma, ages 7 to 14 years old, who live in KY, TN, OH or MI, the four states that make up the Lung Association's Midland States region.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR CAMP

Behind the Headlines: H1N1 Flu

The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported several cases of swine flu in a number of states in the U.S.  What is swine flu?  How can you help safeguard yourself?  The American Lung Association can help you learn more. more

Updated Report Released on Tobacco Laws

The American Lung Association has released the 2008 edition of its State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) report, that tracks key state tobacco control laws as they stood on January 1, 2009. SLATIis the Lung Association’s comprehensive summary of state tobacco control laws and has been published annually for the past 21 years. SLATI is the only comprehensive summary of state tobacco control laws, and is updated regularly to reflect changes in tobacco control laws as they take effect. GET DETAILS.

According to the report, 2008 proved to be a slow year for tobacco control policies on the state level, with only a select few taking the steps that are needed to curb tobacco use and save lives.
as they take effect. 

During the past year, only two states joined the American Lung Association’s Smokefree Air Challenge by adopting comprehensive laws prohibiting smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars.  To date, 24 states including South Dakota just last month, plus the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive smokefree laws as part of the American Lung Association’s Smokefree Air challenge. A map illustrating the nation’s progress towards becoming smokefree can be found online at: www.lungusa.org/smokefree.

Only three states and the District of Columbia passed increases in their tobacco taxes in 2008, bringing the average state cigarette tax up to $1.19 a pack. This is a dramatic increase from the beginning of 2002 when the average tax was only 44.6 cents per pack. The revenue from tobacco taxes sometimes funds state tobacco control programs. However, no state has met the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended funding level for these vital public health programs in fiscal year 2009.