Full Text of HJR0104 96th General Assembly
HJ0104 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a | 3 |
| term used to describe airflow obstruction that is associated | 4 |
| mainly with emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and
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| WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million people and | 6 |
| kills more than 120,000 Americans every year; on average, one | 7 |
| person dies from COPD every 4 minutes, an alarming statistic | 8 |
| for a disease many have not learned about; and
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| WHEREAS, Of the top 5 diseases that kill Americans, | 10 |
| including heart disease and cancer, all but COPD are on the | 11 |
| decline; and
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| WHEREAS, Pulmonary experts predict that, by the year 2020, | 13 |
| COPD will become the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide; and
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| WHEREAS, COPD currently accounts for 1.5 million emergency | 15 |
| room visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician | 16 |
| office and hospital outpatient visits, all of which are a | 17 |
| detriment to the U.S. economy; COPD costs the nation an | 18 |
| estimated $42.6 billion in direct and indirect medical costs | 19 |
| annually; and
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| WHEREAS, COPD affects over 550,000 citizens of the State of |
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| Illinois; the Illinois COPD Coalition, convened by the | 2 |
| Respiratory Health Association, is implementing the State Plan | 3 |
| for Addressing COPD in Illinois, a state-wide effort to | 4 |
| increase early detection, improve care and treatment, and | 5 |
| prevent and reduce the prevalence of the disease; and
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| WHEREAS, Research has identified a hereditary protein | 7 |
| deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin; people with this | 8 |
| deficiency tend to develop COPD, even without exposure to | 9 |
| smoking or environmental triggers; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Recently, the death rate for women with COPD has | 11 |
| surpassed the death rate of men with COPD; women over the age | 12 |
| of 40 are the fastest-growing segment of the population | 13 |
| developing this irreversible disease, due in large part to the | 14 |
| equalization of opportunities for men and women to smoke over | 15 |
| the past several generations; and
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| WHEREAS, There is currently no cure for COPD; modern | 17 |
| medical treatments can only address symptom relief and possibly | 18 |
| slow the progression of the disease; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 21 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the month of | 22 |
| November as COPD Awareness Month in the State of Illinois in |
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| recognition of this deadly disease and its effects on the | 2 |
| citizens of this State.
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