Organizational History
Founded in 1904, the American Lung Association (ALA) of California is a state division of the national organization. ALA fights lung disease through education, community service, advocacy and research. They have assumed a leading role in the fight against tobacco, helping smokers to quit, encouraging children not to start smoking, and protecting nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. The organization actively presses for improved government standards for air quality and funds research grants, enabling medical scientists around the country to seek the causes of lung disease and develop more effective treatments and cures.
The Government Relations Office of ALA of California is the lobbying arm of the state organization. It aggressively campaigns for stronger anti-tobacco legislation and attempts to defeat measures backed by the tobacco industry.
From the guide to the American Lung Association of California Government Relations Office Records, 1985-1996, (University of California, San Francisco. Library. Archives and Special Collections.)
