Tobacco smoke is a powerful trigger of asthma symptoms and harms children with asthma even more than adults. We have learned of two new initiatives to help adults and children with asthma live active, healthy lives.

A new tool developed by the American Lung Association underscores the right to breathe clean air at home and at school, the right to play sports with a doctor's agreement, the right to stay inside if air pollution levels are too high, and the right to carry asthma medications.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: While I was being treated by a sports injury doctor, he commented that it is a good idea for everyone to take several very deep breaths upon arising in the morning and just before retiring at night. He said this opens aveoli (air sacs) in our lungs to allow more efficient oxygen uptake for each breath.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: I was hospitalized for several days this year with pulmonary embolism. Since my "warning signs" have not been quite the same as the ones I have read about, I thought your readers might like to know just what mine were.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: I lived in Tucson, Arizona, for many years. When I put my house up for sale, I cleaned under all my cacti--what a smell. My doctor told me that you can get Valley Fever from digging in the dirt.

If you think the lines for flu shots are long now, imagine what would happen in the event of a global pandemic. Most people who needed flu shots wouldn't get them. The immunization system would collapse.