Lack of interest in asthma means less funding

Asthma is one of the oldest ailments known to man. It was documented as far back as ancient Sumeria 5,000 years ago. And yet we still know so little about this disease, however our wisdom has grown.

The truth is that asthma has been growing at such fast rates in recent years that there are few people who don't know anyone who has it. It is a disease as prevalent as coronary artery disease and cancer, and yet funding received for asthma research is far below those diseases.

Why is this? The reason, perhaps, is that less than 3% of the America's population have asthma. And the only other people who care about the disease are those immediate family members who see the asthmatic suffer.

So, you have almost 95% of the population who have no interest in asthma. And it is exactly that 95% of the nation of whom we need to get interested in asthma, because it is that 95% who pay the taxes that will go on to fund future asthma research.

One of the reasons, according to the authors of Fatal Asthma, that so little tax money is available for asthma research is because so few people die of asthma. Yet between 1985 and 1998 asthma deaths doubled to 5,000 per year, but that death toll pales in comparison to other diseases.

So whatever research is going to be done to find a cure, a way to prevent, or to make the lives of those who suffer with it better, is going to have to come from private funding from people like you and me.

Or, to achieve more tax funding, better asthma education among the greater population is a must.