Breathe Free Newsletter: People & Partner Spotlights; Vote YES on 56; Flu season tips, and more!

Volume 89 | October 2016

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Isabel Stenzel Byrnes
“As people affected by lung disease we wanted to support an organization that helped promote air quality as well as help support people with lung disease,” says Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, who was born with cystic fibrosis, a disease that can lead to lung failure.

VOTE & Yes on 56
Election day is November 8, and when you vote, Proposition 56 (the increase in the state cigarette tax) deserves your support. Increasing cigarette taxes strongly positively improves the public's health: for every 10% increase in the price of cigarettes, consumption decreases by 4% overall, and decreases by 7% among kids. The last time California increased its cigarette tax was 1998 and now has one of the lowest state cigarette tax rates in the country (36th out of 50 states).

Endorse Project E-NUFF’s Efforts On Flavored Tobacco
We all know how dangerous tobacco is. Flavored tobacco — tasting like fruit, candy, and mint — is just as dangerous as regular tobacco, and targeted to kids.
Breathe California is launching a policy campaign, building community support to end the sale of flavored tobacco in San Francisco.

Please join us!

Mina Watanabe

This summer Breathe California was fortunate to have another student intern from Japan through the Intrax internship program. Mina Watanabe is a Chemistry major at Rikkyo (St. Paul’s) University, Tokyo, Japan and joined Breathe California for six weeks.

Our whole team went bowling before she returned to Japan and she had a blast – she’s a great bowler!

Jim Illig
We recently sat down with Jim Illig, Kaiser’s Community Benefit Manager for the Core Bay Area. We asked Jim to tell us what stands out about Breathe California’s signature program, All About Asthma, and why Kaiser chose our organization as one of the 20 in which to invest.

Flu season is here!
The flu season starts as early as October and peaks in January or later. The CDC recommends only injectable flu shots this season (not nasal spray vaccines as these were not proven effective). Some helpful tips to protect ourselves from the virus, include:

Get a flu shot every season.
Wash hands often with hot, soapy water. Hand sanitizer should be used when you cannot wash your hands.
Do not cough and sneeze into your hands. Use a tissue or the bend of your elbow.
Avoid contact with persons who are experiencing any flu-like symptoms.

Marijuana Education Campaign Highlights
Breathe California works to prevent the spread of lung diseases in all of its forms. We have historically focused our smoking prevention community efforts on tobacco but this summer we extended our efforts to community education on marijuana, working with the San Mateo County Health System’s Community Health Promotion Unit and six organizations on the county’s intensive summer Marijuana Community Education Campaign.

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Join us as we celebrate the movers and shakers of Breathe California Golden Gate. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a drink on us while you mingle with other lung health advocates as well as Breathe California volunteer superstars. This is your chance to let your hair down and feel good about the amazing contributions you have made to ensure that breathing is not a struggle for anyone in your local community.

Details coming soon

Shouldn't everyone be able to breathe without struggle?

Check out our new video, which coincides with the launch of our 2016-2017 fundraising campaign: The Campaign to Breathe Free

Lung disease should not be the second leading cause of death in the US. We need your help to change that! Your generous support enables us to work for clean air and lung health in your community. In fact, 50% of our annual revenue comes from individual donations!

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