HJ0104 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0104 LRB096 21395 GRL 37638 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

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

WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million people and kills more than 120,000 Americans every year; on average, one person dies from COPD every 4 minutes, an alarming statistic for a disease many have not learned about; and

WHEREAS, Of the top 5 diseases that kill Americans, including heart disease and cancer, all but COPD are on the decline; and

WHEREAS, Pulmonary experts predict that, by the year 2020, COPD will become the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide; and

WHEREAS, COPD currently accounts for 1.5 million emergency room visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician office and hospital outpatient visits, all of which are a detriment to the U.S. economy; COPD costs the nation an estimated $42.6 billion in direct and indirect medical costs annually; and

WHEREAS, COPD affects over 550,000 citizens of the State of Illinois; the Illinois COPD Coalition, convened by the Respiratory Health Association, is implementing the State Plan for Addressing COPD in Illinois, a state-wide effort to increase early detection, improve care and treatment, and prevent and reduce the prevalence of the disease; and

WHEREAS, Research has identified a hereditary protein deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin; people with this deficiency 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; women over the age of 40 are the fastest-growing segment of the population developing this irreversible disease, due in large part to the equalization of opportunities for men and women to smoke over the past several generations; and

WHEREAS, There is currently no cure for COPD; modern medical treatments can only address symptom relief and possibly slow the progression of the disease; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the month of November as COPD Awareness Month in the State of Illinois in recognition of this deadly disease and its effects on the citizens of this State.