WHEREAS, healthy children are an important resource in the great State of Nevada and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) pose a serious threat to the potential health of our future generations; and

WHEREAS, FASD are 100% preventable by women not drinking any alcohol during the nine months of pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are a major cause of numerous social disorders including learning disabilities, school failure, juvenile delinquency, homelessness, unemployment, mental illness and  crime; and

WHEREAS, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, nationally FASD affects at least 40,000 newborns each year; and

WHEREAS, according to a report in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, the estimated lifetime costs in medical care, special education, special services and lost productivity for one individual with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome the lifetime cost is at least 2 million dollars; and

WHEREAS, on September 9, 2008,  people around the world will be observing the ninth International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day, in order that on the ninth day, of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim September 9, 2008 as,

FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS
AWARENESS DAY IN NEVADA