Asthma campaign endorsed by well-known Kiwis

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation
Media Statement
For immediate release

Asthma campaign endorsed by well-known Kiwis

28 April, 2009

Balloon Day 2009 – the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s awareness and fundraising campaign for childhood asthma research – was formally launched in Christchurch yesterday.

Centred on Asthma Awareness Week, which runs from 4 to 10 May, 2009, with television, radio, print and web advertising, the campaign will also involve a number of activities and events at participating Mitre 10 stores, schools, pharmacies, hospitals, medical centres, and public libraries on and around Saturday 9 May.

‘Awareness raising will be done at various levels, we’ll be running our TV adverts and radio ads, etc and it goes right through to the grass roots level, for example in Kaikoura at the library they are going to devote one of their toddler time sessions to asthma. That should be educative, fun, and let’s face it, pretty cute too, ‘said Foundation Communications Manager, Malcolm Aitken.

‘We need to get the message out that about 1 in 4 Kiwi kids has asthma. If we apply those figures to the Canterbury region, for example, that’s more than 25 000 kids, or the population of Timaru, with asthma. An estimated 65 000 school days alone are estimated to be lost to asthma in Canterbury each year, 500 000 throughout Aotearoa. We need to prioritise asthma research,’ Malcolm said.

‘In Canterbury, across the South Island and indeed across the whole country, asthma will put a huge strain on our hospitals this winter. Asthma is the leading reason for children and young people being hospitalised in New Zealand. We need more research and we need the government to prioritise asthma too.’

Referring to the campaign launch venue, Malcolm said: ‘everything’s launched in Auckland or Wellington and we thought that it would be a good idea to launch this in New Zealand’s second most populous region and somewhere that’s not in the North Island, radical as that is.’

This year a number of well-known New Zealanders from the worlds of entertainment, sport and politics are endorsing Balloon Day.

‘Tariana Turia has spoken with the Foundation about her asthma. Young gun Labour MP Jacinda Ardern has added her voice to ours. Alice Mason, famous for beating a Beijing Olympic medalist to come second in the Great Australian Run in November last year and Olympian Danyon Loader are behind us, ‘Malcolm said.

Balloon Day/Asthma Awareness Week is proudly sponsored by Mitre 10.

ends

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