Ad Council Launches Spanish Asthma Site.

In response to a disproportionately high number of asthma attacks among Hispanic children in urban areas, The Advertising Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the launch of a Spanish-language component to their Web site http://www.noattacks.org.

In the United States, one in 13 children suffer from asthma, leading in many cases to chronic illness, emergency room visits, school absenteeism, and sometimes death. EPA research has found a higher impact among minorities, including Hispanics, living in urban areas.

The Spanish-language Web component is part of an ongoing Ad Council and EPA public service campaign to increase awareness about childhood asthma and motivate parents to learn how to prevent asthma attacks by managing the disease on a daily basis. This new component extends the reach of asthma-related information to Hispanic parents and caregivers, responding to rising incidences of child asthma attacks in Hispanics living in urban communities.

“Too many trips to the emergency room and missed school days are a result of asthma-related illnesses,” said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. “As part of our effort to raise asthma awareness we are making information available in both English and Spanish. This new Spanish language component brings our message to a broader audience, giving more parents the information they need to reduce their child’s asthma attacks. We must help parents learn how they can take action to protect their children.”

“By making this information available in Spanish, we hope to provide Hispanic parents with a reference source that is easy to access and understand,” said Peggy Conlon, Ad Council President and CEO. “This site provides them with the information on how to manage asthma on a daily basis, and through this, they can help their children live fuller lives.”

The Childhood Asthma public service campaign includes TV, radio, newspaper, and out-of-home ads that were distributed in March 2001. PSAs for the campaign were produced in English and Spanish and feature the tagline, “Even one attack is one too many.”

The Spanish-language component of www.noattacks.org was produced pro-bono by designer Bill Wadman. Volunteer ad agency N.W. Ayer produced the creative displayed on the Web site.

The U.S. EPA’s asthma program provides information and supports programs to correct environmental conditions in homes that can trigger asthma attacks like mold, pets, dust mites and secondhand smoke. There are straight-forward prevention steps that can be taken to improve the indoor air quality in homes, which can help reduce the severity and number of asthma attacks.

The Advertising Council is a private, nonprofit organization, which has been the leading producer of public service communications programs in the United States since 1942. The Ad Council supports campaigns that benefit children, families and communities. The communications programs are national in scope and have generated strong, measurable results. Ad Council campaigns, such as “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” “Take A Bite Out of Crime,” and “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” have helped to save lives and resources, to educate the public about issues and concerns of the day. In 2000, Ad Council campaigns received more than $1.5 billion in donated media time and space. Learn more about the Ad Council and its PSA campaigns at http://www.adcouncil.org