2024 House Resolution 250

Whereas, Approximately 4.5 million children in the United States currently have asthma; and

Whereas, Over 27 million people in the United States, have asthma and the numbers are increasing each year; and

Whereas, Over 1 million adults and children in Michigan have asthma; and

Whereas, Asthma is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases among children; and

Whereas, Nearly 1.5 million individuals per year visit emergency departments because of asthma’s effects; and

Whereas, Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalizations and school absences due to a chronic disease among children; and

Whereas, The total economic cost of asthma in the United States was $81,900,000,000 per year from 2008 to 2013; and

Whereas, Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous individuals in the United States face the highest burden of asthma; and

Whereas, Asthma is a manageable disease that claimed the lives of over 3,500 Americans in 2021, including 94 people in Michigan; and

Whereas, People with asthma and food allergies need access to affordable health insurance and to the medications and devices they need at affordable prices; and

Whereas, Over 20 million people in the United States have food allergies, including about 4,300,000 children; and

Whereas, Food allergy has increased among U.S. children over the past 20 years, with the greatest increase in Black children; and

Whereas, Children with food allergies are two to four times more likely to have asthma or other allergic diseases; and

Whereas, May is an appropriate month to designate as “Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare May 2024 as Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month in the state of Michigan. We recognize residents who live with asthma and allergies and to be compassionate of those living with these conditions.