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H.C.R. 14
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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor expresses support for
12 education efforts regarding Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and efforts to
13 prevent the disease.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 . expresses support for efforts to educate regarding, and prevent, Chronic Obstructive
17 Pulmonary Disease; and
18 . encourages the citizens of the state to learn more about the disease and ways to
19 prevent it.
20 Special Clauses:
21 None
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23 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
24 WHEREAS, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a term used to
25 describe airflow obstruction that is associated mainly with emphysema and chronic bronchitis;
26 WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million people and kills more than 120,000
27 Americans every year;
28 WHEREAS, on average, one person dies from COPD every four minutes, an alarming
29 statistic for a disease that is not widely known;
30 WHEREAS, in 2010, the National Center for Health Statistics released a report stating
31 that in 2008 COPD became the third leading cause of death in the United States;
32 WHEREAS, pulmonary experts predict that, by the year 2020, COPD will become the
33 third leading cause of death worldwide;
34 WHEREAS, current annual figures show that COPD accounts for 1.5 million
35 emergency visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician office and hospital
36 outpatient visits, all of which are detrimental to the United States economy, and costs the
37 nation an estimated $42.6 billion in direct and indirect medical costs;
38 WHEREAS, research has identified a hereditary protein deficiency called Alpha-1
39 Antitrypsin Deficiency, and people with this deficiency tend to develop COPD even without
40 exposure to smoking or environmental triggers;
41 WHEREAS, recently, the death rate for women with COPD has surpassed the death
42 rate of men with COPD;
43 WHEREAS, women over the age of 40 are the fastest-growing segment of the
44 population developing this irreversible disease due in large part to the equalization of
45 opportunities for men and women to smoke over the past several generations;
46 WHEREAS, there is currently no cure for COPD;
47 WHEREAS, spirometry testing and medical treatments exist to address symptom relief
48 and possibly slow the progression of the disease; and
49 WHEREAS, until a cure is found, the best approaches to preventing COPD and its
50 considerable health, societal, and mortality impacts are education, awareness, and expanded
51 delivery of detection and management protocols:
52 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
53 Governor concurring therein, express support for efforts to educate and prevent Chronic
54 Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and encourage the citizens of the state to learn more about the
55 disease and ways to prevent it.
56 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Utah
57 Department of Health, the Utah Medical Association, the Utah Hospital Association, and to the
58 members of Utah's congressional delegation.
Legislative Review Note
as of 2-16-12 10:32 AM