The Lung Association today launched its cross-Canada election effort designed to raise awareness of lung disease during the course of the federal election. Activities will include an online e-advocacy website connecting Canadians with their riding candidates as well as analysis of party platforms to measure their commitment to improving the lung health of Canadians.
"This election, we are asking Canadians to vote for action on lung health," said Nora Sobolov, President and CEO of The Lung Association, "We want all major political parties to understand that for the six million Canadians who suffer from some form of lung disease, the time to make lung health a priority issue has come".
To dramatically lower incidence of lung disease in Canada, The Lung Association is looking for the following commitments from all major political parties in this election:
- Funding for the National Lung Health Framework: Canada's first-ever national action plan on lung health;
- Strong legislation to clean up the air Canadians breathe; and,
- Increased funding for research into the causes and exacerbations of lung disease.
The statistics surrounding lung disease in Canada are sobering and underscore the need for action:
- 6 million Canadians - 1 in every 5 - suffer from asthma, COPD, lung cancer, or another respiratory disease
- Every 20 minutes, one Canadian dies from lung disease;
- Air pollution causes 21,000 deaths every year;
- Canada has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world;
- Since 2000, female COPD mortality rates have risen at double the rate of breast cancer;
- Tuberculosis rates among Aboriginal people are more than 25 times higher than those of other people born in Canada;
- In 2007, lung disease cost our economy over $154 billion in direct and indirect costs;
- Lung disease is a leading cause of emergency room visits for children.
"The Association believes that all parties have an opportunity in this election to make lung health a priority", said Ms. Sobolov, "For the one in five Canadians who struggle with lung disease every day, a commitment to dealing with this health crisis can not come soon enough".
Throughout the course of the election campaign, the Association will also be introducing federal candidates to every-day Canadians across the country who are affected by lung disease. The stories of these individuals - patients, doctors, researchers and others - will be posted on the Association's election site lung/election. Canadians can also use this website to to send a message directly to their federal candidates requesting their stand on lung health issues.
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.
The Lung Association