Campaigners call for action over UK’s ‘shameful’ lung health

Lung conditions have for too long been treated like the ‘poor relation’ of other major diseases, says Asthma and Lung UK. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

The UK has the highest death rate for lung conditions in western Europe, research reveals, prompting calls from health leaders for urgent action to tackle the “national scandal”.

More than 100,000 people in the UK die from conditions including asthma attacks, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia every year, according to data analysis by the charity Asthma and Lung UK.