§ 2705. Legislative findings and declarations. The legislature hereby finds and declares that osteoporosis is a public health problem that poses a threat to the health and quality of life to as many as twenty-four million Americans; and that it may ultimately affect as many as half of all women in the United States over the age of forty-five and an increasing number of men; and costs the nation ten billion dollars a year in hospitalization and treatment for resulting injuries, including chronic disability, pain, and the need for long term care.

The legislature further finds and declares that over one million fractures a year result from osteoporosis and that the pain, discomfort, immobility and social isolation that may result from fractures affect quality of life, threaten people's ability to live independently and costs millions annually in nursing home and assistive care.

The legislature further finds and declares that a plan should be established to insure the availability of comprehensive educational services in communities, and that such services include awareness of the disease, its rate of incidence, risk factors, facts about its progression, and implications during pregnancy, the peri-menopausal and post-menopausal years, and in later life; education about the prevention of osteoporosis including nutrition, positive health habits and exercise, and their benefits from an early age; education regarding the availability and significance of diagnostic screening as well as predisposing factors including genetic disposition and interventions for those who already have bone mass loss or those who may be at high risk of bone mass loss; education about available and experimental treatments and the benefits, risks, and side effects of each.

The legislature hereby finds and declares that educating the public about this potentially devastating disease is of paramount importance and that educating the public throughout the state is in every respect in the public interest and to the benefit of all persons in this state.