Spring Appeal letter

							                                 Spring is in the air …

and we welcome the
growing warmth of the sun
and those longer spring evenings!

For those with chronic lung conditions, breathing the     •   We breathe on average
spring air can be challenging. Grass burning, more            20,000 times a day.
vehicles being driven, and dusty roads all affect the
                                                          •   The asthma rate in
quality of our outdoor air.
                                                              children is 4 times higher
                                                              than it was 20 years ago.
This spring, the Lung Association is asking for your
help to improve the quality of our air and the quality    •   Air pollution may also
of life for those with lung disease.                          contribute to the
                                                              development of new cases
The quality of the air we breathe is a priority of The        of heart and lung disease.
Lung Association. According to the 2008 Canadian
                                                          •   Listen for the new Air
Medical Association’s Study “The National Illness
                                                              Quality Health Index as
Cost of Air Pollution” —
                                                              part of Environment
• Respiratory illness accounts for nearly 40% of
                                                              Canada’s weather forecast!
  hospital admissions associated with exposure to air
  pollution, and,
• 21,000 Canadians will die from the effects of air
  pollution this year, a figure projected to rise to            1 in 5 Islanders
               2031.
  710,000 by 2031                                               suffer from lung
The PEI Lung Association depends on the generosity                   disease
of our donors. Your financial support will help us
continue providing research, information, and
services that help improve lung health and air quality.
HOW YOUR CONTRIBUTION CAN HELP
A contribution of $25 will ...
•   continue to give Islanders ongoing access to the Asthma Action
                                        Helpline—
    Helpline or BreathWorks (COPD) Helpline staffed by certified
    asthma and COPD educators.
•                                          Handbook—
    provide 10 Islanders with The Asthma Handbook a comprehensive
    guide for those recently diagnosed with asthma — the most common
    chronic lung condition in Canada.
•   Provide a series of “Improving Our Air Quality” brochures to a
    school classroom.

Established in 1900, The Lung Association is one of Canada’s oldest and most
respected health charities, and the leading national organization for science-based
information, research, education, support programs and advocacy on lung heath
issues.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY?

•  Keep the furnace, air conditioner, and humidifier well maintained. If you need to use an air
conditioner, set it at a moderate temperature, around 23 degrees Celsius. When you leave the
house, turn the air conditioner down.

•   Don’t burn things in the yard. It’s especially harmful to burn garbage, plastics, cardboard,
wrapping paper, particleboard, Styrofoam, painted or treated wood, or wood taken from
saltwater. Smoke from chimineas or other outdoor fireplaces — any type of open burning — can
be harmful to small children, the elderly, and people with lung problems. Even smoke from leaf
burning can irritate the eyes, nose and throats of healthy adults.

•   Try not to use a car -- walk, bike, carpool, or take public transit. If you do drive, plan ahead
and make one trip with several stops, instead of separate trips. Don’t idle. If you stop for more
than 30 seconds, turn the engine off. Thirty seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the
engine.

•   Drive more slowly. Reducing your highway speed to 90 km/h can decrease fuel consumption
by 20%

•   Garden without pesticides.                                                     (from www.lung.ca)


                     When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters.            TM