For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 9, 2001
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Month Proclamation
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Approximately 16 million American adults suffer from a devastating
disease for which there is no cure. The disease is called
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and it is a growing
problem in this country and throughout the world. COPD
claims more than 100,000 lives per year, drains the American economy of
an estimated $30.4 billion each year, and is the fourth leading cause
of death in the United States today, exceeded only by heart disease,
cancer, and stroke.
COPD is a medical term for a group of respiratory conditions that
includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD results in
gradual, irreversible damage to the lungs. Since the
symptoms progress gradually, COPD patients may not even realize in the
early stages that they have the disease. Over the years, as
the lung damage continues, breathing becomes increasingly difficult.
Although some patients have an inherited version of the disease,
smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Exposure to toxic
substances in the environment such as industrial pollutants, aerosol
sprays, nontobacco smoke, and internal combustion engine exhaust may
also aggravate or contribute to COPD. While our ultimate
goal is to prevent this often-fatal disease, we now need better
treatments. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Month
offers us the opportunity to increase our knowledge of this disease and
to consider what we can do to reduce its occurrence.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2001, as
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Month. I call upon the
people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities to raise awareness of COPD and its
impact on communities and to improve the quality of life of those who
suffer from the disease.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
this ninth day of
November, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-sixth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
# # #
|