Scotland

Respiratory disease is one of the top three killers in Scotland with 1 in 5 people have been diagnosed with a lung condition at some point in their lives.

It is estimated that the NHS in Scotland spends £500 million each year on lung disease, including lung cancer and respiratory infections, making it the fourth most costly disease area.

Key stats

Asthma: In Scotland, around 368,000 people are currently receiving treatment; 296,000 adults, 71,000 children.
COPD: 140,000 people diagnosed with COPD in Scotland. More than 200,000 are estimated to be undiagnosed.
IPF: 2,500 people living with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in Scotland.
Bronchiectasis: estimated that around 1 in every 1,000 adults in Scotland have the condition.
OSA: estimated to be at least 13% of adult men and 6% of adult women living with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
Air pollution: Over 2,500 people in Scotland die early every year due to dirty air

Our work

We are campaigning for lung health to be treated as a national priority and fight for a Scotland where everyone can breathe clean air with healthy lungs.
We raise the profile of lung conditions in the Scottish Parliament and lead the Cross-Party Group for Lung Health. This provides a platform for MSPs from all political parties to discuss issues relating to asthma and to ensure government policies work to improve care and services for people with asthma.
We campaign for action to reduce air pollution including the roll out of Low Emission Zones across Scotland and tackling domestic burning in urban areas.
We work with ASH Scotland and other partners to campaign greater investment in targeted smoking cessation programmes and mass media campaigns to achieve the 2034 target of less than 5% of people smoking.
We have championed a nationwide programme for lung screening to be delivered across Scotland.
We campaigned for a Respiratory Care Action Plan and are working with the Scottish Government and health care professionals to implement it.
We are working with the physiotherapy community to champion the right to rehabilitation so that everyone with lung conditions has the right to some form of pulmonary rehabilitation when they need it.