SJR51 1R

Sponsored by:

Senator JIM WHELAN

District 2 (Atlantic)

Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Mosquera and Senator Pou

SYNOPSIS

Designates November of each year as “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness Month.”

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As amended by the General Assembly on December 3, 2012.

A Joint Resolution designating November of each year as “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness Month.”

Whereas, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a term used to describe airflow obstruction that is associated mainly with chronic bronchitis and emphysema; and

Whereas, COPD affects an estimated 24 million people and kills more than 120,000 Americans every year; and

Whereas, On average, one person dies from COPD every four minutes, an alarming statistic for a disease many are unfamiliar with; and

Whereas, The National Center for Health Statistics reported that, in ¹[2008] 2009¹, COPD became the third leading cause of death in the United States; and

Whereas, COPD currently accounts for a large number of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and outpatient treatments, all of which are burdensome to medical resources and the economy of this country; and

Whereas, The American Lung Association estimates that COPD costs the nation an estimated $50 billion in direct and indirect medical costs annually; and

Whereas, Risk factors for COPD include smoking, exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke, occupational dusts and chemicals, and a history of childhood respiratory infections; and

Whereas, Research has found that individuals with a hereditary protein deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin tend to develop COPD even without exposure to smoking or environmental triggers; and

Whereas, Recently, the death rate for women with COPD has surpassed the death rate of men with COPD, and women over the age of 40 are the fastest-growing segment of the population developing this disease due to increased numbers of women smoking over the past several generations; and

Whereas, Currently, no cure exists for COPD, although spirometry testing and medical treatments exist to relieve symptoms and possibly slow the progression of the disease; and

Whereas, According to the American Lung Association’s analysis of the ¹2010¹ National Health Interview Survey, at least 294,000 New Jersey residents may be affected by chronic bronchitis ¹[or] and 130,000 by¹ emphysema, two conditions associated with COPD; and

Whereas, Until there is a cure, preventing COPD and its considerable health, social, and financial impacts on New Jersey’s citizens requires broader awareness of the disease’s causes and costs and greater support for efforts related to its detection and treatment; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The month of November of each year shall be designated as “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness Month” to raise awareness about this deadly disease’s causes and considerable impacts on the citizens of this State and to promote improved prevention, detection, and treatment of the disease.

2. The Governor shall annually issue a proclamation recognizing November as “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness Month” in New Jersey and shall call upon public officials and the citizens of this State to observe the month with appropriate activities and programs.

3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.