World Lung Day
25 September 2021

Taking care of our lungs is now more important than ever. So, this year on 25 September, we will be asking the world to ‘care for your lungs’ and keep them healthy.

The 2021 WLD theme will focus on Care for Your Lungs:

• Say no to tobacco
• Protect them through vaccination
• Breathe clean air
• Take regular physical exercise

Tobacco causes 8 million deaths every year and is the main cause of many lung diseases. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and can cause cancer.

Stopping smoking is the best way to improve your lung health and overall health.

Quitting tobacco has the potential to reverse some of the damage done by tobacco smoke to the lungs, but not all. Early cessation is therefore essential to preventing the onset of chronic lung disease, which is irreversible once developed. The benefits of quitting tobacco are almost immediate.

• After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your heart rate drops.
• Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
• Within 2–12 weeks, your circulation improves and lung function increases.
• Within 1–9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
• Within 5–15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
• Within 10 years, your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker.
• Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

Care for your lungs, say no to tobacco. Here are some resources to help you:

• World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 100 reasons to quit tobacco.
• Take part in the WHO Quit Challenge and receive support via text.

Vaping is the use of an electronic system to deliver inhaled drugs, most commonly nicotine and cannabinoids (natural or synthetic forms of marijuana).

There is increasing evidence that inhaled nicotine from e-cigarettes damages lung tissue and lowers the body’s natural resistance to infections and to cancers and emissions from these devices are hazardous to lungs.

Care for your lungs, say no to vaping. Here are some resources to help you:

• Learn more about e-cigarettes/vaping.

Vaccines save millions of lives each year. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defences, the immune system, to recognise and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. If the body is exposed to those germs later, the body is immediately ready to destroy them thereby preventing illness.

Getting vaccinated can protect you from lots of different infectious diseases and help you keep your lungs healthy. Pneumococcal pneumonia, COVID-19, influenza and whooping cough are examples of respiratory infections that can be prevented by vaccination.

Vaccination can also help to protect other people. People can be protected if those close to them (like friends and family members) and enough people in their communities (including healthcare professionals) are vaccinated, because it stops infections from spreading.

People with a lung condition or other health conditions can be at a higher risk from lung infections. You can prevent some of these infections by getting vaccinated.

Care for your lungs, protect them through vaccination. Here are some resources to help you:

• Read more about how vaccines work to prevent infections.
• Find out what vaccinations are available to protect people from lung diseases.

Air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people worldwide every year. WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.

Air pollution has a negative impact on human health and exposure to it can affect 100% of the population, from unborn babies to the very elderly. The lungs are the first point of entry for air pollution into the body and are therefore the first affected organ. Air pollution affects everyone−rich and poor, developed and developing countries, but it hits the hardest where the exposure is greatest, low and middle-income countries.

Care for your lungs, breathe clean air. Here are some resources to help you:

• Test your knowledge on the importance of clean air for healthy lungs with the Healthy Lungs for Life quiz.
• Check air pollution levels where you live.
• Learn more about the benefits of clean air during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regular physical activity and exercise improves quality of life, whether you are healthy or you have a lung condition. Many people associate keeping fit with maintaining a healthy heart, losing weight and reducing the risk of illnesses such as diabetes, but exercise also helps keep lungs healthy.

When you exercise, your heart beats faster and your lungs work harder. Your body needs more oxygen to fuel your muscles. Your lungs step up their activity to deliver that oxygen while expelling additional carbon dioxide. In addition, your lungs expand during exercise compared to when not exercising, preventing compression of lower lung areas.

It is best to ask the guidance of a doctor or physiotherapist before you begin changing your activity levels, to ensure that your plans are in line with your capacity and are safe. All exercise and physical activity programmes must be built up over time to allow the body to adapt.

Care for your lungs, take regular physical activity. Here are some resources to help you:

• Read tips on exercising if you have lung disease.
• Watch the European Lung Foundation easy at home exercise video series.

Press release [25 September 2021]

On World Lung Day FIRS calls for global investment in respiratory health

Respiratory diseases a leading cause of death worldwide, despite being preventable and economical to treat.

Today, on World Lung Day (WLD), members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) and WLD partner organisations are calling for respiratory health to be a top priority in global decision-making beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report, launched today, despite cost-effective health interventions being available, respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of death and disability. Nearly 200 million people, or 4% of the world’s population, have COPD and 3.2 million die of it each year, making it the third-leading cause of death worldwide.

In the context of the current global COVID-19 pandemic it is easy to overlook the lethality and disabling impacts of ongoing respiratory illnesses. For example, even in a ‘normal’ year asthma affects more than 350 million people and is the most common chronic disease of childhood worldwide. Pneumonia kills more than 2.4 million people annually and is a leading cause of death among children younger than five and adults older than 65. More than 10 million people develop TB and 1.4 million die of it each year, making it the most common lethal infectious disease next to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 4.5 million people, largely from respiratory causes.

Lung cancer kills 1.8 million people each year. At least 2.4 billion people are exposed to indoor air pollution, and 90% of all people are breathing outdoor air that exceeds WHO guideline limits, especially in low- and middle-income countries, More than 1.3 billion people are exposed to tobacco smoke.

"It is urgent to place acute and chronic respiratory diseases on the high priority list of actions at every level and change the future of respiratory and general health worldwide", says Mark Cohen, President FIRS 2021-2022.

"Interventions to prevent and treat respiratory diseases are among the most cost-effective available - a "best-buy" in the view of the WHO. Genuine investment in respiratory health will pay exponential dividends in longevity, healthy living days, and national economies."

FIRS calls for these essential actions to reduce the burden of respiratory disease and improve global health:

• Improve awareness among the public and policy makers that respiratory health is vital to global health and that childhood respiratory disease has long-term negative consequences on adult health.
• Reduce, and then eliminate, use of all tobacco and smoking products.
• Adopt and adhere to WHO standards, at a minimum, to reduce ambient, indoor, and occupational air pollution for all countries.
• Implement universal access to quality health care, including the availability of affordable, quality-assured, essential medicines, oxygen and universal coverage for all effective childhood and adult immunizations including vaccinations for COVID-19.
• Improve the prevention and early diagnosis of respiratory diseases.
• Increase education and training of health-care professionals in respiratory disease worldwide.
• Standardize the monitoring and reporting of respiratory diseases to enable development of better-informed national strategies through WHO and governmental and nongovernmental organizations programmes.
• Boost funding for respiratory research to develop programmes, tools, and strategies to better prevent and treat respiratory diseases.

Significant progress on these issues will help to eliminate respiratory diseases from the top 10 leading causes of death in the world.

About World Lung Day

World Lung Day is an annual lung health awareness day, occurring yearly on 25 September. To date nearly 200 organisations and many more individuals support WLD through lung heath advocacy and action. This year, with respiratory health firmly in the spotlight, it is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the burden of respiratory disease. To learn more about World Lung Day and download the fact sheet, graphics go to the World Lung Day Toolkit.

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)