September 2025

The Prescription for Lung Disease is an EV 

MARC MY WORDS: Thoughts from Breathe SoCal's President & CEO

Most people aren’t aware that September 25th is World Lung Day.  This is a global campaign to raise awareness about lung health and the urgent need to reduce the burden of respiratory diseases. Most people also aren’t aware that we can all play a role in reducing the burden of lung disease simply by driving electric vehicles (EVs).  

Let me explain. The federal Clean Air Act is the law that authorizes the federal government to regulate emissions from industrial and transportation sources. In 1970 this law significantly expanded this responsibility, and it assigned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), which was created that same year, to implement the act. 

But seven years earlier, when the Clean Air Act was first adopted, there was no US EPA or any federal agency responsible for the environment. In Southern California in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, there were days when the smog was so thick people literally couldn’t see the buildings across the street. Their throats and eyes burned from the dirty air just by going outside.       

So, when the original Clean Air Act was written in 1963, it was to be implemented by the U.S. Public Health Service.This brief history lesson highlights that when air pollution became the major issue in our region, it was not initially viewed as an environmental problem; air pollution was a public health problem.  In my view, it still is.

When we advocate for the public to switch to driving electric vehicles, and for local governments and local businesses to convert their equipment to newer equipment that has zero-emissions, we are not just promoting new technology. We are promoting a strategy to improve the region’s public health. 

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In Health,

People with asthma come in contact with several asthma triggers at once:

Being around all of these asthma triggers at the same time can make asthma harder to control. The September asthma spike tends to affect children first. When kids start a new school year, they come in contact with a lot of these asthma triggers. There's several things you can do!

• Review and Adhere to Asthma Management Plans: Ensure your child’s asthma management plan is up-to-date and being followed meticulously. This includes regular use of prescribed controller medications, even when symptoms are not present.

• Promote Good Hygiene: Encourage frequent hand washing and other hygiene practices to minimize the spread of cold viruses. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose, especially during cold and flu season. Stay away from people who are sick as much as possible.

• Stay Informed: Keep abreast of local air quality reports and adjust outdoor activities as needed to avoid exposure to poor air quality.

• Good ventilation and air filters can improve your indoor air quality (IAQ) Talk with your child’s school about their IAQ policies. Good IAQ is important to reduce air pollution, airborne allergens, and the spread of respiratory infections.

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