Action for Better Lung Health Around the World

This is an urgent call by FIRS to action for better lung health around the world.

Respiratory diseases are often not recognized as the major problem they are:

• More than 65 million people suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, sometimes known as emphysema or chronic bronchitis) and 3 million die each year, making it the third leading cause of death worldwide – and the numbers are increasing.
• About 334 million people suffer from asthma, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. It affects 14% of children globally – and rising.
• The most common lethal neoplasm in the world is lung cancer. It kills 1.6 million people each year – and again, those numbers are growing.
• For decades, pneumonia has been among the top three causes of death and disability among both children and adults.
• In 2015, 10.4 million people developed tuberculosis – and 1.4 million people died from it.
• At least 2 billion people are exposed to toxic indoor smoke; 1 billion inhale polluted air outside, and 1 billion are exposed to tobacco smoke. Four million people die prematurely every year from other chronic respiratory diseases.

Fortunately, most respiratory diseases are PREVENTABLE by improving the quality of the air. Common sources of unhealthy air are tobacco smoke, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and air containing microbes, toxic particles, fumes, or allergens.

Join us in reducing tobacco consumption, controlling unhealthy air especially in the workplace, and strengthening immunization programmes as important first steps.

Please sign this petition to support the new Charter for Lung Health; we are aiming for 100,000 signatories.

Everyone has the right to breathe clean air and to have healthy lungs.