Efforts urged to raise awareness about pulmonary disease

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Chest Society has announced to observe “Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease” (COPD) in the country to create awareness about the disease.
Experts pointed out that the number of people suffering from the disease was increasing with the passage of time and many lost their lives due to the lack of knowledge about this preventable disease.
Health experts said “Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease” was preventable and it had a great impact on the life of the patients and their families. They said that reducing the burden of COPD worldwide depended on identifying a greater proportion of the people who have developed the disease and were leading a normal life after being treated.
The experts said COPD was a common lung disease that blocked the air passages making breathing difficult.
According to chest physicians, the disease is mainly caused by smoking or exposure to smoke, fumes and other air pollutants. The experts said that worldwide one in 10 adults over the age of 40 years was suffering from COPD and it was a preventable disease but due to increase in tobacco use and increases COPD had become a life-threatening lung disease.