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COPD Patients Rally at U.S. Capitol to Raise Awareness for America's Fourth Leading Killer Disease  

EFFORTS (Emphysema Foundation For Our Right To Survive), the largest patient organization in the United States working to raise awareness for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, took their message to Congress today during a rally held at the United States Capitol building.

COPD is an umbrella term for two respiratory diseases -- chronic bronchitis and emphysema -- and is caused primarily by smoking (90 percent of cases). There are more than 30 million Americans who suffer from COPD, but only 16 million have been diagnosed with the respiratory disease. COPD is the only one of the top 10 causes of death on the rise, with 110,000 Americans dying each year, and is estimated to become the third leading cause of death in the United States by 2020.

More than 30 members of Congress were represented at the rally, where a large contingent from EFFORTS gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol. "It is crucial that we do everything we can to stop the spread of this deadly disease and help those patients who are currently suffering," said United States Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). "We have come a long way in reducing smoking."

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