Christmas Seals Campaign

Join us in celebrating the Christmas Seals’ 71st anniversary in Quebec, by supporting our mission in favour of the public’s health.

The Quebec Lung Association was founded in 1938, just a few years after the dreadful stock market crash of 1929, during a period when tuberculosis was decimating thousands.

To help control this white plague, it was the first Association to appeal to the public, by means of a mass mailing campaign, offering a unique collectible “ Christmas Seal ” each year.

Over a period of 71 years, the Christmas Seal Campaign has become a tradition in Quebec families. Throughout the years, all of us have had to bear the brunt of recessions; however, certain behaviours tend to develop during such major upheavals, like a sense of family, sharing and traditions to be preserved.

This is why we are appealing to your generosity, now that the recession is over. People with lung disease need our help and support.

There are currently 1.4 million Quebecers suffering from respiratory illnesses, that’s 1 out of 5 people. With an aging population and a changing climate, the number keeps growing each year. As a matter of fact, since the year 2000, twice as many women have been dying of emphysema as opposed to breast cancer. And bear in mind that lung disease claims the life of one Quebecer every 20 minutes.

As the Holiday Season approaches, we wish you the best of health in the upcoming new year. We are counting on you to help us perpetuate the Christmas Seal tradition by making a donation that will be useful to others, while adorning your correspondence !

Nowadays, it would be foolish for any health-oriented association to speak only of diseases while ignoring the numerous causes linked to them. This year, the Association focused on a number of issues, not the least of which was the environment, specifically poor air quality, smog, radon and the effects of ragweed pollen.

• Children under the age of 4 account for 6% of hospital admissions linked to air pollution;
• 1 out of 4 Montreal children suffer from the direct and/or indirect causes of asthma, compared to 1 out of 12 back in 1980;
• Quebec reports 9,505 cases of infantile bronchitis each year;
• In 2008, close to 11,000 hospital admissions were attributable to air pollution;
• In 2008, 21,000 Canadians died of the effects of air pollution;
• We all know someone with asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis (COPD), sleep apnea, lung cancer.

Perpetuate the tradition by adorning your gifts and envelopes with our magnificent Christmas seals, and help us pursue our public health mission in these difficult times.