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REMARKS BY:  DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE: "BETTER BONES  TOUR", KICKOFF EVENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.
DATE: JULY 1, 1998

Thank you, Congresswoman Morella, for your personal devotion to fighting osteoporosis, and for working with us to get Medicare coverage for bone density screenings -- part of the President and First Lady's commitment to advance the health of all Americans.

This "Better Bones Tour" is a great idea. I always say, if you can't bring people to good health -- bring good health to people. That's why I was willing to participate in the "milk mustache" campaign, because it's important to reach out to all Americans -- particularly teenagers -- about the benefits of drinking milk. (My mother loves this picture. How times have changed. When I was a child, she would never -- ever -- let me leave the house with milk on my face.)

Like most mothers, mine always told my sister and me to drink our milk. She knew our growing bodies needed calcium and Vitamin D. But what too many mothers never knew is that drinking milk can also help ward off a serious bone disease later in life. In fact, most people don't know enough about osteoporosis, let alone how to spell it, pronounce it -- or prevent it. Because for too long, osteoporosis has been a "silent disease." A disease that slowly, quietly eats away your bones until they look like Swiss cheese -- they're hollow, brittle and easy to snap. And it's a disease too many people learn they have the hard way -- by breaking a bone.

Today, 8 million women and 2 million men suffer from osteoporosis. And an additional 18 million are at risk because of low bone density. That's 28 million Americans whose bones, mobility and independence are at risk. And the cost in health care is staggering -- almost 14 billion dollars a year. Osteoporosis is a needless tragedy because it's so easy to prevent. And one of the best preventions in is in the 'fridge. Milk. Low fat or fat-free. Take it with cookies. Take it on your cereal. Or just take a frosty glass when you're thirsty.

We can defeat osteoporosis in America. What does it take? It takes parents making sure their children and teenagers reach for milk instead of soda. The calcium is especially crucial for girls, who tend to develop a deficit they can never make up. Fighting osteoporosis also takes good public messages. Like this "Better Bones Tour." We need to raise public awareness that osteoporosis is a serious, debilitating disease. That nobody is immune -- not young people, not men. But that everybody can help protect themselves. Fighting osteoporosis also takes personal responsibility. That means exercising and not smoking. Eating foods rich in calcium and Vitamin D. And drinking your milk.

And if you're getting older, here's one more tip: Get a regular bone-mass measurement. There's no excuse for not getting tested for osteoporosis. Starting today, Medicare will cover bone-mass screenings, as well as more preventive benefits for people with diabetes. And starting today, trucks like this will be covering the nation, to get out an important message: Get milk and get tested -- to fight osteoporosis. Your mother would want you to. And I'm sure we all agree: Mother knows best.