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EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN TO ANNOUNCE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SECONDHAND SMOKE

Release Date: 10/15/2001
Contact Information:



Note to Correspondents

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman tomorrow will unveil a new environmental health initiative designed to protect America’s children from the risks of secondhand smoke in their own homes. Whitman will announce a national television and print media campaign, and release a new brochure and other outreach materials to help families protect their children. Throughout the month of October, Whitman has been focusing on environmental risks to children’s health. Secondhand smoke is an environmental trigger of asthma, the cause of an estimated ten million missed school days for children in the U.S

At the event, Whitman will be joined by some of the nation’s key consumer, medical and community organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and the National Association of Counties (NACo).

WHAT: Announce new national environmental health initiative designed to protect children from secondhand smoke in the home.

WHO: EPA Administrator Christie Whitman
Martha V. White, MD, Fellow, American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology
Dana Best, MD, MPH, Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics

The Honorable Dorothy Bailey, Board Member, National Organization of Black County Officials (NOBCO), Member, National Association of Counties

Mary Ellen Fise, Consumer Federation of America

WHEN: Tuesday, October 16, 2001, 11 a.m.

WHERE: Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Washington DC

CAN'T ATTEND THE EVENT?: Listen in on a live audio feed of the news event toll-free at 800/966-1573 by 10:55 a.m. EDT on October 16, 2001. Streaming audio of the news event will be available by 5 p.m. EDT at www.consumerfed.org/takethepledge.html. The audio page also will include a PDF of the news release from the event and a copy of the pledge for parents to smoke outside. For further information about the toll-free audio feed or related Web page, contact Jenny Kefauver, 703/276-3256 or

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