No one should live in fear because of an allergy.

My bill would ensure life-saving epinephrine is available at large public venues like schools, stadiums and restaurants.

When her brother John unexpectedly went into severe anaphylactic shock, Lucia Zaremba was terrified. John’s skin turned blue, and as he struggled to breathe, he turned to their mother and said “I don’t want to die.”

Luckily, their mother had an epinephrine auto-injector—commonly known as an EpiPen—handy. Moments after she injected John, his skin returned to normal and he could breathe once again.

The experience got Lucia, a Poly Prep student who lives in Bay Ridge, thinking. What would have happened if John didn't have an EpiPen? How many kids forget their EpiPens at home on any give day day? How many people with unknown allergies don't carry an EpiPen at all?

Lucia wanted to take action to protect people with allergies like her brother. So she approached my office with a simple, brilliant idea that turned into a bill:

My legislation would require life-saving epinephrine auto-injectors at all large public venues across New York State. The bill would also require venue staff to be trained to administer the devices, which can quickly reverse the effects of life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Epinephrine devices are the only effective treatment for anaphylaxis, and such tools are already required in day care centers in New York City. To Lucia, it seemed like “common sense” that there be life-saving epinephrine in all large public venues, as Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are now.

“I grew up with my best friend because an EpiPen saved his life,” Lucia said during a visit to the New York State Capitol. “And I'm here to fight to make sure everyone who suffers from food allergies has the same protections John did.”

More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, and 20 million have food allergies specifically, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says food allergies are responsible for approximately 30,000 emergency department visits and 150–200 deaths each year. The advocacy group FARE estimates nearly two million New Yorkers have food allergies—a number larger than the combined populations of Manhattan and Rochester.