25 states now allow businesses to stock medication critical to combating allergic reactions
(VIENNA, Va.) Allergy & Asthma Network today congratulated lawmakers in 25 states who have passed laws expanding access to epinephrine in public places.
Last week, Governor Robert Bentley signed HB295 into law, making Alabama the latest state to put legislation in place that permits venues to maintain an epinephrine auto-injector, with the intention of reducing the time it takes to get the critical medication to a person having an anaphylactic reaction.
According to federal guidelines, epinephrine is the treatment that should be given first when a person is experiencing a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Currently, an estimated one in 13 children in the U.S. is living with a food allergy that can cause such a reaction.
“Because allergic reactions can occur suddenly and without warning, having epinephrine available in a variety of public spaces just makes sense,” said Tonya Winders, President and CEO of Allergy & Asthma Network. “These laws help protect those with known allergies, but also those who might suffer a first-time reaction.”
Allergy & Asthma Network is grateful for the work state legislatures across the country are doing to make epinephrine more readily available in public places and will continue to work to pass similar legislation in the remaining 25 states.
Information on state-by-state epinephrine access is available at our Advocacy Site
About Allergy & Asthma Network
Allergy & Asthma Network is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions.
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