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American Lung Association of
Illinois - Greater Chicago

150 N Wacker Dr, Suite 2360
Chicago, IL 60606
312-781-1100
312-781-9250 fax
www.lungil.org

Mission
The mission of the American Lung Association is to prevent lung disease and promote lung health through research, advocacy, and education.

About Us
The American Lung Association is the oldest voluntary health organization in the United States, with a National Office and constituent and affiliate associations around the country. Founded in 1904 to fight tuberculosis, the American Lung Association today fights lung disease in all its forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health. The American Lung Association is funded by contributions from the public, along with gifts and grants from corporations, foundations and government agencies. The American Lung Association achieves its many successes through the work of thousands of committed volunteers and staff. The American Lung Association has many programs and strategies for fighting lung disease. Among these are:

Asthma. Open Airways For Schools is the American Lung Association's elementary-school education program for children with asthma. Open Airways teaches children with asthma to understand and manage their illness so they can lead more normal lives.

Tobacco control. The American Lung Association offers a variety of smoking control and prevention programs targeted to specific groups-some aimed at adults, others intended for school use, and still others designed to build bridges between the home and school and involve community leaders along with parents and educators.

Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU), is an important part of the American Lung Association? drive to eliminate tobacco use among youth. TATU is a peer-teaching tobacco control program aimed at deterring youngsters from taking up smoking.

Environmental health. Lung disease can be caused or aggravated by air pollution, both indoors and out. The American Lung Association is active in the pollution control arena and has become the leading public advocate for clean air, as well as the chief source of information and public education on the health hazards of air pollution.

Research and professional education. the American Lung Association funds a broad program of grants and awards designed to further both basic and applied research in lung function and lung disease. This funding has led to such major breakthroughs as the use of lifesaving surfactant therapy for thousands of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Advocacy programs. The American Lung Association's advocacy programs seek to influence the development and enforcement of laws and regulations related to lung health at the national, state and local levels, providing authoritative information to policymakers. The Lung Association played a major role, for example, in the passage of the landmark federal Clean Air Act, as well as the law prohibiting smoking on domestic passenger airline flights. And as a result of an American Lung Association lawsuit filed in 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency established revised, stricter air quality standards for smog and soot in July 1997.

Facts and Statistics
Lung cancer kills more women in the U.S. than breast, ovarian and cervical cancer combined.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death, claiming the lives of 177,000 Americans annually.

More than one million people in the Chicagoland area suffer from some form of lung disease, including more than 195,000 children with asthma.

Asthma is:

The leading cause of hospitalizations for children under 15.

The most common chronic illness among children and responsible for one in six pediatric emergency room visits in the U.S.

Health Tips
If you need support to help you quit smoking, visit www.ffsonline.org and stop smoking today! The program is based on the Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking program, which has already helped thousands of smokers quit smoking for good. The Freedom From Smoking online smoking cessation clinic can be accessed day or night, seven days a week, on any schedule a smoker chooses.

If you are unable to get your flu shot this year, it is more important than ever to be vigilant and take some simple steps to help prevent the spread of the flu. Below are suggestions from the American Lung Association:

Wash your hands often. The most common way to catch the flu is to touch your own eyes, nose or mouth with germy hands. So keep your hands clean, and away from your face.

Keep your distance when you are sick or if you are around someone else who is sick.

Keep it to yourself. One gift you can give others is to help prevent other people from catching your flu. We highly recommend that you stay home from work, school and public places when you are sick.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.

Remember, you can still spread germs up to 7 days after getting sick.

Fundraising & Administrative Percentage
Fundraising is 5.30% of our total ALAMC expenses, while administrative costs are 4.58% of total expenses.

Testimonials
Please visit our website at www.lungchicago.org for current stories of people whose lives have been affected by lung disease, as well as updates on current research, community activities, and news events.