According to the most recent 2001 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 7.2% of U.S. adults have current asthma. Massachusetts is the state with the highest rate of self-reported asthma at 9.5%, Maine and Rhode Island are next at 9.4%, and all the New England states have higher than average rates. (See
www.cdc.gov )
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease and affects more than one child in every fifteen under the age of 18.
The cost of asthma in 2000 was estimated to be $20 billion, exceeding the combined total costs of AIDS and tuberculosis.
Approximately 18 million Americans suffer from asthma, and 6 million of those people are under the age of 18.
Among children ages 5 to 17, asthma is the leading cause of school absences from a chronic illness and is responsible for more hospitalizations than any other childhood disease.
Asthma also accounts for about 1.8 million emergency room visits and 10 million doctors' office visits a year.
Each day 14 Americans die from asthma.
Tobacco smoke triggers asthma symptoms and makes people with asthma more vulnerable to attacks.
Tobacco smoke harms 50 million Americans with asthma and allergies.
Exposure to tobacco smoke worsens symptoms of asthma in 200,000 to 1 million children.