American Lung Association to honor George Mitchell

PORTLAND – The American Lung Association of Maine will present former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership on the problem of air pollution.

The presentation is scheduled for the association’s annual meeting this afternoon in Portland.

Mitchell is credited with the successful 1990 reauthorization of the federal Clean Air Act, which regulates emissions from chemical plants, utilities and other sources.

Other awards to be given at today’s event include:

. For youth advocacy, the group Ignite Oxford County from Rumford, for its successful efforts to pass Maine’s first-in-the-nation ban on flavored cigarettes and cigars.

. For healthful air, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, and Lung Association volunteers Lynn Graham of Houlton and Beth Thomas of Bowdoinham for their leadership in passing Maine’s new law regulating emissions of outdoor wood boilers.

. For distinguished service, CD&M Communications of Portland for its award-winning media campaign addressing youth smoking, secondhand smoke exposure and adult smoking cessation

. The Roselle Huddilston Award, named for a former director of the American Lung Association of Maine, Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, for her efforts to prevent tobacco use among Maine children and adults.

For information, go to www.mainelung.org.