Bulletin
No. 107 (June 2018)
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APSR News

A warm welcome to the Hong Kong Thoracic Society

We are delighted to announce that the Hong Kong Thoracic Society (HKTS) has joined the APSR as an en bloc society. As with other en bloc societies, all HKTS members are now members of the APSR and have full APSR membership rights and privileges. Many HKTS members have already joined APSR assemblies,

The APSR has enjoyed a lengthy and strong relationship with Hong Kong, which joined other countries in founding the Society in 1986. Hong Kong has provided two outstanding APSR presidents and two successful APSR Congresses.

HKTS en bloc membership gives confidence of a bright future for us all.

Message from the HKTS President

I am excited to deliver to you the news that the Hong Kong Thoracic Society (HKTS) has recently joined the APSR in the form of an en bloc membership. Through collaboration with the APSR, our society will be able to extend our impact on the promotion of respiratory health in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Established in 1987, the HKTS now consists of 1,300 registered members, including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals. HKTS dedicates herself to raising awareness for respiratory health and facilitating future breakthroughs in the field.

The HKTS cooperates closely with the CHEST Delegation Hong Kong and Macau and the Hong Kong Lung Foundation, both of which have been lending us tremendous help and support throughout the years.

The contribution of the society to the scope of respiratory medicine lies along a great spectrum, thanks to the valuable efforts paid by our members. Here below offers a glance at our work. Two large-scale conferences are held every year, namely the Annual Scientific Meeting (March) and the Autumn Respiratory Seminar (November). Three Special Interest Groups (on Sleep Medicine & Respiratory Failure, Interventional Pulmonology, and Airway Diseases respectively) were established not long ago to fuel research interests among our young fellows. Newsletters (joint with the CHEST Delegation) are published quarterly, offering our members the latest updates and insight in the field. On top of these, the society organizes public promotion events from time to time. Other activities arranged include press conferences, health checks, educational talks, radio programmes and essay publications in the media.

Many of our members currently hold Fellowship and membership of the APSR. Moreover, Prof. Lam Wah Kit and Prof. Mary Ip held office as the president of the APSR in the past. It is my strong belief that signing up as an en bloc member of APSR benefits us in more ways than could be imagined. It is foreseeable that our members receive more opportunities in continuing education and pursuing excellence. The APSR will serve well as a platform that bridges local professionals and the international authorities.

Wilson Kwok-sang Yee. President, HKTS

APSR & ISRD Joint Session

The APSR and the ISRD (International Symposium on Respiratory Diseases) enjoyed a successful 4th joint APSR-ISRD Session at the prestigious American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in San Diego on Saturday 19 May 2018 at the San Diego Convention Center.



(Click photo to enlarge)

APSR Members online access to ATS 2018 Sessions

As with their 2017 International Conference, the ATS has kindly arranged for you to benefit from recordings of some of the most popular sessions from the 2018 International Conference, sharing tremendous ATS scientific research and clinical care knowledge.

Access is free for APSR members via apsresp.org/archive/ats-2018-stream.php and is scheduled to be available until 30 August 2018

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Submit abstracts & register
via your smartphone

23rd APSR Congress, Taipei
29 November – 2 December 2018

25th APSR Congress, Kyoto, Japan
15–18 October 2020

APSR Travel Award to the JRS Annual Meeting

JRS Annual Meeting 2019 in Tokyo, Japan, 12–14 April 2019

Application deadline: 31 July 2018

Respiratory Updates

The May 2018 issue (Vol 10.5) features APSR air pollution update:

Inside Respirology

Respirology Vol. 23 Issue 6 (Regular issue, June 2018) has been released since the last Bulletin.

In this issue, the Editors have especially chosen to feature the following two articles:

Respirology Case Reports

Editors from Respirology and Respirology Case Reports meet at the ATS 2018 Conference in San Diego

During the inaugural lunch meeting for the Associate and Deputy Editors of Respirology Case Reports, Christopher Lai, Editor in Chief, presented the current performances of the journal, and strategies on how to develop the journal in the future. It was a great opportunity for all present to meet each other and hear from each other's experience with the journal. The Editors agreed that the aim of the journal is to publish well-written articles with educational value. The journal's readership is high in the US and the Editors discussed ways to increase submissions from this region. In addition, Chris reported: "We also discussed ways to encourage submission from developing countries [according to WHO's classification of low-income countries]. I am quite keen to see this happens." The Editors discussed ways to encourage this with the support of the APSR.

Remember that all APSR members, including members of societies with en bloc APSR membership, receive a 50% discount of the open access publication fee and many developing countries are entitled to a 50% discount or a full waiver of the open access publication charge. For more information on publication charges and discounts, please visit: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/20513380/homepage/article_publication_charges_and_discounts.htm

To read the latest from Respirology Case Reports, please go to: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20513380

To submit your manuscript: mc.manuscriptcentral.com/respirolcasereports

On the same day of the Editorial Board meeting of Respirology Case Reports, several of Respirology's Associate, Deputy and Senior Editors also met with co-Editor in Chief Paul Reynolds. Respirology's Editors in Chief have held similar meetings at the 2017 ERS conference in Milan, Italy, and the 2018 TSANZSRS conference in Adelaide, Australia. Philip Bardin and Paul Reynolds are planning to make these meetings a regular occurrence at future international respiratory conferences to give Respirology Editors based in different parts of the globe an opportunity to meet their colleagues and share their experiences and ideas for the journal. For an update of the latest performance indicators for Respirology, please keep an eye on the Editor's message in the upcoming July APSR Newsletter.

In the meantime, please visit Respirology's website to read the latest Articles (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14401843/0/0) and Topics in Focus (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/14401843/homepage/free_themed_collections.htm)


Left to right: Peter Eastwood, Bei He, Peter Wark, Garun Hamilton, Debra Sandford, Christopher Lai, Gary Lee, Nicole Goh, Arata Azuma and Hiromasa Inoue

Left to right: Fu-Qiang Wen, Bei He, Hiromasa Inoue, Christopher Lai, Arata Azuma, Nicole Goh and Garun Hamilton

Regional society news

The spotlight this month is on

MALAYSIA

Each month we share details of activities of a particular country, region or society.

If you would like the spotlight to be on your country, region or society next month, contact the Bulletin Coordinator or APSR Secretariat.

Malaysian Thoracic Society (MTS)

  1. Annual General Meeting

    The 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 21 July 2017 at the Diamond Room 3 & 4, Sunway Putra Hotel, 100 Jalan Putra, 50350 Kuala Lumpur. Forty-one members attended the AGM.

  2. Office Bearers 2017 – 2019

    The following are the office bearers for the term 2017-2019:

    • President: Assoc Prof Dr Pang Yong Kek
    • Vice-President: Dr Nurhayati binti Mohd Marzuki
    • Hon Secretary: Dr Hooi Lai Ngoh
    • Hon Treasurer: Assoc Prof Dr Jessie Anne de Bruyne
    • Hon Assistant Secretary: Dr Ahmad Izuanuddin bin Ismail
    • Hon Assistant Treasurer: Dr Asiah binti Kassim
    • Committee Members:Assoc Prof Dr Surendran Thavagnanam
      Dr Hilmi bin Lockman
      Dr Lalitha Pereirasamy
      Dr Dg Zuraini binti Sahadan

      Prof Dr Roslina binti Abdul Manap was co-opted into the committee.

  3. Honorary Auditors

    The following were appointed as the Honorary Auditors for 2017 – 2019:

    1. Dato' Dr Abdul Razak bin Abdul Muttalif
    2. Prof Dr Liam Chong Kin
  4. Membership

    The current membership stands at 268 comprising 193 life ordinary members, 53 life affiliate members, 16 ordinary members, 5 affiliate members and one honorary member.

  5. MTS Annual Congress 2017

    The Annual Congress was held in Sunway Putra Hotel on 20–23 July 2017 and was co-organised with the Lung Foundation Malaysia (LFM). The Organising committee was headed by Dr. Nurhayati Mohd Marzuki. The Scientific Committee was co-chaired by Dr Helmy Haja Mydin, Dr Asiah Kassim and Assoc Prof Dr Surendran Thavagnanam. A total of 484 delegates registered for the congress.

    In collaboration with the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute, the MTS held the congress workshop "On Acute Pulmonary Embolism to Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: State Of The Art Management" on 20 July 2017. Seventy delegates attended the workshop.

    The main congress comprised 3 plenary lectures and 18 symposia covering a wide spectrum of respiratory diseases in adults and children. The faculty of speakers consisted of eminent local and overseas experts. The total number of lectures within the 18 symposia was 54. In addition, there were 10 symposia sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. The "Multidisciplinary Case Discussions" were held on the second afternoon, and voting was done via a voting app. There were 2 early morning or sunrise sessions. A forum on patient advocacy titled "The Role of Clinicians in Patients Advocacy" was held on the last day.

    There were 5 oral paper presentations, 39 poster presentations on scientific papers and 54 poster presentations on case reports. The presentations were done on the second day of the congress. All 5 oral presenters were awarded prizes while the best 6 posters for scientific papers and best case report were also awarded prizes which were announced during the Gala Dinner. Five consolation book prizes were awarded to other case report presenters.

  6. CPD, CME and health promotional activities held under the auspices of the MTS

    1. Respiratory Fellowship Lecture Series. The first series was held on 14 and 15 January 2017. On the first day, a Smoking Cessation Course was held, funded by Johnson and Johnson, and the lectures on the second day focused on Pulmonary Rehabilitation. It is planned to organise more lecture series in the future.
    2. KIDZ Asthma Education Programme Train the Trainer Course for asthma educators was held in the Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur on 4–5 March 2017. A total of 20 new educators from 10 hospitals attended the course. It was co-organised by the Department of Paediatrics, Hospital Kuala Lumpur and the MTS. Boehringer Ingelheim (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd was the main sponsor.
    3. A Respiratory Summit was held on 29–30 April 2017 in Penang. The sponsor was AstraZeneca.
    4. Basic Lung Function Test Certification Course Phase 1 and Train the Trainer 2017 was held on 5–7 May 2017 and Phase 3 was conducted on 14–15 October 2017.
    5. A CME programme on IPF was held at Aloft KL Hotel on 22 March 2017, sponsored by Roche.
    6. Launch of pirfenidone was held on 5 May 2017 at PJ Hilton under the auspices of the MTS. The sponsor was Roche.
    7. The MTS endorsed a live webinar "Optimise the Impact of PCV13 in Adults" which was transmitted from Taiwan, at KL Hilton on Friday 5 May 2017. The sponsor was Pfizer.
    8. The MTS co-sponsored the OSA Awareness Week event held by the Perak Chest Society on 13–18 June at Clarke Street, Ipoh. The exhibition was held from 10am until 5pm daily. Four volunteer doctors were on duty from 10am to 1pm to provide the OSA screening. Two public talks with the title "Snorers Beware" were held. Dr Chong Jee Can gave the talk on Saturday 17 June in Mandarin while Dr Leong Oon Keong gave the talk in English on Sunday 18 June 2017.
    9. In conjunction with World Lung Cancer Day, the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Penang Hospital in collaboration with the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Penang Hospital, the Malaysian Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (MABIP) and the MTS, organised a Lung Cancer Master Class 2017 at St Giles Wembley Hotel Penang on 5 August 2017 and a Public Forum on Lung Cancer on 6 August 2017.
    10. KIDZ Asthma Education Programme was held on 12 August 2017 at Hospital Port Dickson. A total of 65 participants attended the course. It was co-organised by the Department of Paediatrics, Port Dickson Hospital and the MTS.
    11. Spiolto Dinner Symposium was held on 12 August 2017 at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur under the auspices of the MTS. The sponsor was Boehringer Ingelheim (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
    12. Spirometry for Primary Care Practitioners was held on 26 August 2017 at the Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. There were 40 participants and 10 speakers.
    13. The MACE 2017 event for Southern Region was held on 30 September 2017 at the Thistle Hotel, Johor Bahru under the auspices of the MTS. The sponsor was AstraZeneca.
    14. Terengganu Respiratory Update 2017 was held on 10–11 October 2017. It was organised by the Respiratori Unit, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) Kuala Terengganu in collaboration with Kelab Medik HSNZ, Kuala Terengganu and the Malaysian Thoracic Society sponsored RM10,000.00 for the event.
    15. Basic Lung Function Test Phase 3 was held on 14–15 October 2017 at Skills Laboratory, Selayang Campus UiTM.
    16. The 3rd Respiratory Forum 2017 was held on 21 October 2017 at Grand Lexis Suites, Penang, under the auspices of the MTS. The sponsor was Boehringer Ingelheim.
    17. Salford Lung Study Roadshow was held on 27 October 2017 in Penang, 28 October 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, 29 October 2017 in Kuching, Sarawak and 4 November 2017 in Johor Bahru. For the event in Kuala Lumpur, live broadcast will be made to Kelantan, Melaka, Perak and Sabah. The sponsor is GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical and the MTS has endorsed these events.
    18. KIDZ Asthma Educator Programme was held in Shah Alam on 20 November 2017. It was co-organised with Shah Alam Hospital.
    19. The 1 UKMMC Hands on Pleural Workshop was held on 6–7 November 2017 at Bangunan Pra Klinikal, PPUKM. the MTS offered 10 travel grants for MTS members to attend.
  7. Lung Foundation of Malaysia (LFM)

    The MTS continues to support the LFM in its activities. The MTS donated RM30,000 from the proceeds of the MTS Congress 2016 to the LFM. Donations to the LFM are exempt from income tax.

  8. CME grant and research grant under auspices of the MTS

    The CME grant disbursed funds for members to attend CME activities including educational meetings organised under the auspices of the MTS and other related organisations held both locally and overseas. Dr Noorul Afidza binti Muhammad and Dr Mohd Izzuan bin Ishak were awarded travel grants to present their abstracts at the ERS Milan 2017 International Congress and Dr Lily Diana binti Zainudin and Dr Arvindran s/o Alaga were awarded travel grants to present their abstracts at APSR 2017 in Sydney.

Dr Hooi Lai Ngoh
Honorary Secretary 2017-2019

Other notable society events and news:

Australia

Letter from Australia

An article about the management of pleural disease, by Graham Simpson BSc, MD, FRACP, FRCPEd, Department of Thoracic Medicine, The Cairns Hospital, Cairns, QLD, Australia Letter From Australia DOI: 10.1111/resp.13321.

Asian Pacific Congress for Bronchology (APCB) 2019

Venue:Gold Coast, Australia
Dates:28–30 March 2019
Detailswww.apcb2019.com

The Asian Pacific Congress for Bronchology (APCB) 2019 will take place at the Gold Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre, Australia, 28–30 March 2019. It will attract about 400 participants from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region; a distinguished audience comprising researchers and clinicians in the field of bronchology and interventional pulmonology. The theme is "Case-Based Training; Practice and Theory" and it will have a novel design with a hands-on focus; workshops will provide the core part of the Congress.

This Congress will have particular relevance for trainees, fellows and consultant specialists. Case-based learning is a key part of modern learning methods and APCB 2019 will allow this type of learning to take centre stage. We are developing a stimulating programme designed to explore the latest developments, medical advances, cutting edge treatments and breakthroughs in the management of respiratory illnesses.

For more information, or to sign up to receive updates, please go to www.apcb2019.com.

Bangladesh

Letter from Bangladesh

The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in Bangladesh, an article by A K M Nizam Uddin MBBS, FRACP, Department of Medicine, Central Gippsland Health, Sale, VIC, Australia; Monash Lung and Sleep, Monash Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Former Medical Graduate, Chittagong Medical College, Chittagong, Bangladesh Letter from Bangladesh DOI: 10.1111/resp.13315.

China

Letter from China

This article shows the medical improvements made for Chinese citizens, especially those living in remote regions. By Chunxue Bai MD, PhD, FCCP, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Respiratory Research Institute, Shanghai, China Letter from Bangladesh DOI: 10.1111/resp.13319.

Hong Kong

HKTS/CHEST Symposium on Asthma and COPD

The Hong Kong Thoracic Society and CHEST Delegation Hong Kong and Macau will co-host the "Symposium on Asthma and COPD: NOW and Future" at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong on 1-2 September 2018.

This 2-day programme sessions include:

  • Hands-on workshop for respiratory physicians
    • Bronchial thermoplasty
    • Endobronchial valve
    • Force oscillation technique
    • High flow oxygen therapy
    • Bronchial challenge test and FeNO
  • Certificate course for nurses and allied health professionals
    • Asthma in children
    • Asthma in adult
    • COPD
    • Spirometry, lung volume study and diffusion study
    • Skin test and inhaler devices
    • High flow oxygen therapy and NIV
  • Symposium on Asthma and COPD
    • Maximum bronchodilation for COPD: what to consider?
    • Asthma and COPD: how big is the problem and where do we go wrong?
    • The microbiome in respiratory health and disease: the key to prevent airway disease development?
    • Is asthma a western disease? Lessons from China
    • Can COPD development be halted?
    • Inhaler devices and inhaler techniques
    • Strategies for improving adherence in asthma & COPD
    • COPD according to the latest GOLD strategy: anything new?
    • Managing asthma in children: anything new?
    • Novel mechanisms of asthma attacks: new avenues for therapy & prevention
    • A practical approach to assessment and management of difficult-to-treat asthma
    • Treating type 2- high asthma
    • Treating non-eosinophilic asthma
    • Bronchial Thermoplasty
    • Measurement of bronchodilator responses in COPD: forced oscillation and imaging
    • Personalised therapy of COPD: ready for prime time
    • Is mild COPD worth treating?
    • Mechanisms of COPD exacerbations and their implications for treatment
    • Anti-IgE therapy in asthma
    • Rationale for dual bronchodilator therapy in COPD
    • Inhaled steroid for COPD
    • Trait-directed treatment of airway disease
    • Moving beyond disease labels in asthma & COPD - what are the research needs?
    • Asthma-COPD overlap
    • Eosinophilic COPD
    • Individualized care for our COPD patients
    • Endobronchial lung volume reduction for COPD

Invited speakers include:

  • Neil Barnes (UK)
  • Norbert Berend (Australia)
  • Peter Calverley (UK)
  • Mario Castro (USA)
  • Veronica Chan (Hong Kong)
  • Ratko Djukanovic (UK)
  • Felix Herth (Germany)
  • Sebastian Johnston (UK)
  • Gregory King (Australia)
  • Fanny Ko (Hong Kong)
  • Grace Lam (Hong Kong)
  • Wai-kei Lam (Hong Kong)
  • Christopher Lai (Hong Kong)
  • Jing Li (Mainland China)
  • Neil Martin (UK)
  • Fernando Martinez (USA)
  • Fernando J Martinez (USA)
  • Daniel Ng (Hong Kong)
  • Ian Pavord (UK)
  • Helen Reddel (Australia)
  • Hoi-nam Tse (Hong Kong)
  • Jorgen Vestbo (UK)
  • Wisia Wedzicha (UK)
  • Yiu-cheong Yeung (Hong Kong)

Click here (PDF file) for details of academic accreditations, conference registration, and the detailed programme, or contact the meeting secretariat:

  • MIMS (Hong Kong) Limited
    27/F., OTB Building, 160 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
    Tel: (852) 2155 8557 or 2116 4348 Fax: (852) 2559 6910
    E-mail: meeting.hk@mims.com

Indonesia

World Asthma Day

The Indonesian Society of Respirology (ISR) celebrated World Asthma Day in May 2018. Activities conducted in several ISR branches included symposia, training and public awareness.

The greatest celebration was a collaboration between ISR and the Indonesia Asthma Foundation on 6 May 2018 on Ancol beach Jakarta. This was attended by asthma club gymnastics all over Jakarta, and it was estimated that more than 1,000 people participated. The celebration main activity was performing Indonesia asthma gymnastic.

Indonesia Asthma Gymnastic was created in 1985 and revised in 2003, with the aim to help asthma patients stay healthy and control their disease.

Special scientific meeting ISR 2018

There will be a special scientific meeting of the Indonesian Society of Respirology (ISR) (Pertemuan Ilmiah Khusus PDPI 2018) with the theme Current approach in respiratory medicine – Special issues in interventional pulmonology and thoracic oncology

Venue:Crowne Plaza Hotel Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
Dates:23–27 October 2018
Secretariat:pikpdpi2018@gmail.com
Tel: +62 81313563575
Detailswww.pikpdpi2018.com
Avisena Dutha Pratama: avissena_dp@yahoo.com
Erlang Samoedro: erlangsamoedro@gmail.com

Republic of Korea

Letter from Korea

How medicine in Republic of Korea is taking advantage of Information Technology, an article by Chin Kook Rhee MD, PhD, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea Letter from Korea DOI: 10.1111/resp.13329.

Malaysia

Malaysian Thoracic Society Congress 2018

Venue:The Zenith Hotel, Kuantan, Malaysia
Dates:Conference workshops: 12 July 2018
Main Conference: 13–15 July 2018
Secretariat:m.thoracicsociety@gmail.com or secretariat@mts.org.my
Tel: +6 03-8993 9333 Fax: +603-8993 9444
Detailswww1.mts.org.my

Philippines

The Chong Hua Hospital Section of Pediatric Pulmonology celebrates May as the Asthma Awareness Month and World Asthma Day 2018





Dr Alfredo Bongo FAPSR and Dr Arnold Nicholas Lim were invited to appear in the cable TV programme 'Direct Line' to highlight asthma in children.

They tackled the issues of asthma signs and symptoms, triggers, prevention and treatment.

Their theme for World Asthma 2018 was "Never too early; never too late".



Education sessions were also held in the clinic, Cebu City





Sri Lanka

A public awareness activity for World Asthma Day

Dr Eshanth Perera FAPSR broadcast his message on Sri Lankan radio to talk about the problems and treatment of asthma.

Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists – Annual Academic Sessions: Respire X

Venue:Kandy, Sri Lanka
Dates:28–30 June 2018
Details:www.copsl.lk

The following distinguished APSR faculty will present at the Sessions:


Takashi Kido

Takashi Kido

  • Associate Professor
    Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
  • APSR Assembly member of the Environmental & Occupational Health and Epidemiology Assembly

Yasuo Morimoto

Yasuo Morimoto

  • Professor
    Dept of Occupational Pneumology,
    Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences,
    University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
  • Director of Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences,
    University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
  • APSR Assembly Head for Environmental & Occupational Health and Epidemiology Assembly

Chin Kook Rhee

Chin Kook Rhee

  • Professor
    Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine
  • Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea
  • APSR Assembly Head-Elect for the COPD Assembly

Vietnam

Annual congress of Vietnam Respiratory Society 2018

Venue:Hanoi, Vietnam
Dates:27–28 September 2018
Detailshoihohapvietnam.org

Health news

Make a difference

Many members have already given their support for the Charter for Lung Health, joining over 4,000 other people who are concerned for better lung health in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.

But to make our voices heard, we need to collect 100,000 online signatures before the petition is delivered to the Director-General of the W.H.O. and members of the World Health Assembly.

  • It takes just a few seconds to enter your name and email address to the online petition.
  • You don't have to subscribe to anything.
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  • Just click here to show that you care.

World No Tobacco Day

Respiratory societies warn about electronic cigarette use in youth
World No Tobacco Day – 31 May 2018.

Cape Town, Glenview, Lausanne, Montevideo, New York, Paris, Tokyo, May 31, 2018 – Tobacco is the leading underlying single cause of death worldwide. In 2016, tobacco use caused over 7.1 million deaths mostly related to lung and heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Every year, on 31 May, persons and organizations mark World No Tobacco Day, by highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

This year the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) announced a new position paper on electronic cigarettes and youth. FIRS is a collaborative of nine international professional organizations created to promote respiratory health around the world. FIRS joins with and applauds the World Health Organization (WHO) as a leader committed to fighting the global tobacco epidemic. In 2005, the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force, covering more than 90 percent of the world's population, and in 2008 the MPOWER strategy, a practical, cost-effective way to implement FCTC, was launched. These and other actions of many organizations fighting tobacco consumption have had substantial success in many areas. Nearly two thirds of countries now have some of the FCTC measures in place.

But there is still much to do to reduce tobacco consumption, which is driven by nicotine addiction. Sadly, nicotine use is rising, and in many places this is driven by electronic nicotine delivery systems. These devices often bypass FCTC and MPOWER strategies and target youth. FIRS raises concern about the risks of using electronic cigarettes, especially in children, adolescents and young adults.

Smoking behavior is strongly driven by nicotine addiction, which causes changes in the brain that it requires more nicotine to function normally, resulting in complex, biosocial maladaptive behaviours, known as dependence. Children's brains are particularly susceptible to the development of nicotine addiction. Youth addicted to nicotine become tomorrow's life-long users of tobacco products.

Over the past decade, electronic cigarettes have rapidly risen in popularity among young people in many countries. More than 450,000 American middle school students used e-cigarettes in 2016, four times the number of reported users the previous year. E-cigarette use in youth is associated with higher smoking prevalence, at a younger age, and heavier tobacco use. It appears that youth-directed advertising and flavouring are important factors leading to experimentation with electronic cigarettes by youth. A study of 600 British children, aged 11 to 16 years, showed that electronic cigarette advertising increased the appeal of electronic cigarettes and interest in trying them.

Contrary to industry claims, electronic cigarette aerosols are not simply "harmless water vapour" as some have claimed. Just as decades passed before the health consequences of cigarettes were known, many years may be needed to determine the magnitude of the health burden of e-cigarettes.

Based on this information, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies recommends:

  1. To protect youth, electronic nicotine delivery systems should be considered tobacco products and regulated as such.
  2. The addictive power of nicotine and its adverse effects in youth should not be underestimated. All forms of promotion must be regulated.
  3. The sale of electronic cigarettes to youth must be banned in all nations, and those bans must be enforced.
  4. Electronic cigarettes have been claimed to be safer than combustible cigarettes, but comparison to the most lethal product in the history of the world is faulty. The appropriate comparison would be to non-use of tobacco products. All health and safety claims regarding electronic cigarettes relative to combustible tobacco in advertising and media should cease.
  5. Because flavourings increase rates of youth initiation, they should be banned in electronic nicotine delivery products.
  6. As electronic cigarette vapour exposes non-users to nicotine and other harmful chemicals, use should be prohibited in indoor locations, public parks, and places where children and youth are present.
  7. While their health risks are increasingly recognized, the physiological and deleterious effects of electronic cigarettes have still not been adequately studied, especially their impact on the developing lung and brain. Greater research is needed.
  8. Routine surveillance and surveys concerning combustible and electronic cigarette use should be carried out in many settings to better understand the scope and health threat of tobacco products to youth in different countries and regions.

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS):

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organization composed of the world's leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally: American Thoracic Society, American College of Chest Physicians, Associatión Latino Americana De Thórax, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, European Respiratory Society, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Pan African Thoracic Society, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, and the Global Initiative for Asthma. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

Education

New educational articles

The following article has recently been selected from Respirology for its specific educational value. Previous articles on further topics can be seen at apsresp.org/education/articles/index.html

APSR Membership

Passwords

We have listened!

The format of passwords required to log into members-only webpages has been greatly simplified. You can now use a PIN number or any password which is easy to remember.

If you have not registered yet to access the members-only webpages, click the REGISTER button at the top of this Bulletin.

Assembly news

ATS & APSR Liaison Programme – Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH)

ATS liaison – Narufumi Suganuma, MD, PhD
APSR liaison – Kazuhiro Yatera, MD, PhD

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) & Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) Liaison Programme – Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH) was newly created and had started in 2017 by the leaders of the ATS and APSR as one of the joint activities between both societies.

Initial goals of the programme are to facilitate communication between the societies, learn how both societies structure their assemblies, submit joint society assembly projects for project funding and submit jointly developed symposia through the ATS call for input.

The first meeting of the ATS-APSR Liaison Programme on EOPH was held at the ATS Conference 2017 in Washington DC, and started to communicate and discuss what to do in this programme. An ATS EOPH Assembly meeting was held in the evening of 22 May 2018 in San Diego, where more than 200 people gathered as usual. We discussed the current status of ATS membership, the acceptance rate of the Blue Journal (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, impact factor=13.204) which is around 12%, impact factors of the Blue and Red Journals (American Journal of Respiratory and Cell and Molecular Biology, impact factor=4.10) and the new Annals of ATS.

Around 20 young researchers received ATS Abstract Scholarship Awards; a mentoring programme was held on 20th; three of the four grant applications made by the EOPH Assembly were awarded; and Prof. Robert A Cohen explained NIOSH B reader programme for Pneumoconioses Chest Radiography and encouraged members to take the exam. The previous chair, Prof. Jack Harkema, received the Val Vallyathan Senior Award. The John Peters Award was given to Prof. Susan Tarlo for her long time contribution to allergic response and occupational lung diseases. Dr Juan C Celedón, who is currently serving as ATS Secretary-Treasurer 2017-2018, will be the President of ATS 2020-2021.

On behalf of the ATS-APSR liaisons Narufumi Suganuma, MD, PhD talked with Howard M Kipen, MD, MPH, who serves as chair of ATS EOPH Assembly. Both agreed to identify the regions in the world that have patient cluster of occupational lung diseases, and try to see whether the ATS could grant the on-going AIR Pneumo Project, which is an international quality assurance programme for readers of pneumoconioses chest radiography mostly provided in Thailand. One of the sessions organized by EOPH, Occupational Lung Epidemiology, covered various aspects of new and old occupational lung diseases and attracted more than 100 participants.

ATS 2019 will welcome you in Dallas, Texas from 17 through 22 May 2019.


Profs. Suganuma and Kipen. (May 2018, ATS San Diego)

Prof. Kipen. (May 2018, ATS San Diego)

APSR Young Investigator Awardee reports
from the JRS Annual Scientific Meeting, Osaka 2018

Dr Sotheary Chhorn

Percutaneous transthoracic biopsies (PTB) ultrasound guided of lung tumour

"I would like to express my deep appreciation to APSR for this Young Investigator Award. It was my first visit Japan and I was very glad to see a beautiful country and meet the kind people; helpful and always offering a warm greeting.

I had the pleasure of attending the 58th congress of JRS in April 2018 at the International Convention Center in Osaka. This award was my great opportunity to get valuable experience by working with experts from the APSR, JRS and from other countries. It strongly encouraged me to keep going and reach out to a further interesting study and share it at a great congress like this one, again and again.

This wonderful event not only let me know and discuss the new interesting discovery from an international perspective, but also let me share my experience about my study on percutaneous transthoracic biopsies ultrasound guided of lung tumour.

Another wonderful experience was to be a chairperson at the Meeting. I have experience in that role in my country but this was my first time to chair at an international congress. It was so exciting to learn and discuss with participants about their posters; their research and experiences helped me to open my visions and also increase my knowledge.

Once again, thank you so much APSR. I am looking forward to participate again and again in further APSR conferences.

Dr Sotheary Chhorn
Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital
University of Sciences of Health,
Cambodia

Dr Eugene Roscioli

Molecular and cellular origin of COPD

"I was gratefully selected to receive a travel award by Professor Kwun Fong and the APSR Executive Committee (in conjunction with the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand), to attend the 2018 Japanese Respiratory Society Annual Scientific Meeting hosted in Osaka, Japan. My role at this conference was to discuss my research describing the molecular and cellular origin of COPD, and I was also give the opportunity to chair the COPD basic research session.

The conference was by all accounts a world-class forum that comprised individuals at the forefront of respiratory research and I was exposed to a great variety of quality clinical and basic research. In addition to the broad and innovative content delivered through the research seminars and symposiums, importantly for me, I benefitted from the basic research component of the conference. A particular highlight related to this was an exciting new method of culturing primary alveolar epithelial cells. The development of this laboratory know-how has been greatly anticipated in the respiratory research sphere for outcomes related modelling complex pathophysiological effects in the COPD airway. This technology has not been described in any other forum to my knowledge. Hence, I am now able to apply a new focus to my research aims which will add significant value to my publications and grant applications.

Further, the JRS was a perfect opportunity to interact personally with respiratory researchers, and I discussed two promising collaborative linkages. One was with a Japan-based research team lead by A/Prof Atsuyasu Sato (Kyoto University) who attended my presentation and subsequently inquired about methods to further their laboratory's work into airway serine protease activity as a causative factor for the pathogenesis of COPD. The other involved Prof Marc Moss who was my co-chair during the COPD basic research session, and a fine individual who conducts outstanding research into the management of acute lung injury. He generously offered to support my efforts to pursue a collaborative link within the USA. I am eager to cultivate these professional relationships as they hold great potential to add new lines of inquiry and add efficacy to our respective research.

These interactions were possible with the support of the APSR and the qualities afforded by the JRS ASM which enables an early career researcher such as myself to directly interact with (for example) a leading internationally-recognised researcher such as Prof Moss (President of the American Thoracic Society).

Equal to the fantastic professional opportunities provided by the conference, I greatly enjoyed the Japanese culture, both as part of JRS/APSR social programmes and through my own experiences while discovering Osaka. The social programme showcased an unending array of delicious Japanese delicacies, a fascinating kabuki puppetry education session and performance, and the length the Japanese support teams went to ensure our experience was comfortable and trouble free was exceptional. Indeed, this was a quality inherent each of the Japanese individuals I encountered throughout Osaka.

As a result, I will look back on my involvement with the Osaka JRS convention as much more than an educational conference. It was an experience that furthered my professional development, allowed me to develop real links with world-class researchers, and I was able to immerse myself in the rich culture of Japan. It was without a doubt the highlight of my formative years as a respiratory researcher. I am indebted to the APSR, the JRS and TSANZ for cooperating to allow early career researchers to take such an amazing journey.

Dr Eugene Roscioli (PhD, B.Biotech (Hons), Grad. Cert. ScTechComm)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Laboratory Manager
Lung Research Laboratory
Dept. of Thoracic Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital

Senior Adjunct Lecturer
School of Medicine/Department of Medicine
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
The University of Adelaide"



Left to right: Dr Sotheary Chhorn, Prof. Yoichi Nakanishi (APSR Secretary General), Prof Kwun Fong (APSR President), Dr Eugene Roscioli

Donations received

  • Yoshinosuke Fukuchi (Japan)
  • Masayuki Hanaoka (Japan)
  • Lai Ngoh Hooi (Malaysia)
  • Ichiro Kuwahira (Japan)
  • Yasuo Morimoto (Japan)
  • Takahide Nagase (Japan)
  • Yoshitaka Oku (Japan)
  • Takafumi Suda (Japan)
  • Nobuhiro Tanabe (Japan)
  • Tomoyasu Uno (Japan)
  • Arivudai Nambi Veerappan Periasamy (India)
  • Patrick Weyer (USA)
have kindly sent their donations towards the Society's goals, as outlined at apsresp.org/members/donors.php.

The APSR is profoundly grateful for their generosity.

New Fellows of the APSR

Congratulations to the following members who have recently become APSR Fellows.

  • Dr Noni Novisari Soeroso FAPSR (Indonesia)
  • Dr Arivudai Nambi Veerappan Periasamy FAPSR (India)

New assembly members

A warm welcome to the following members who have recently joined APSR assemblies. They will undoubtedly enjoy working with and networking with their assembly colleagues.

Assemblies
Dr Igusti Ngurah Bagus Artana
(Indonesia)
Clinical Respiratory Medicine
COPD
Asthma
Dr Alfredo Jr. Bongo
(Philippines )
Paediatric Lung Disease
Asthma
Critical Care Medicine
Dr Tajik Mohamed Shafi
(India)
Clinical Respiratory Medicine
Lung Cancer
Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques
Dr Robert J Shiner
(Israel)
Asthma
COPD
Interstitial Lung Disease
Dr Noni Novisari Soeroso
(Indonesia)
Lung Cancer
Interstitial Lung Disease
Environmental & Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Dr Arivudai Nambi Veerappan Periasamy
(India)
Clinical Respiratory Medicine
Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques
Tuberculosis
Dr Patrick Weyer
(USA)
Critical Care Medicine
Clinical Respiratory Medicine
Respiratory Structure and Function

Future Pulmonology Events

Here are the main respiratory events in Asia-Pacific region for the next few months. You can see our full listing on the APSR Calendar.

  • Respire 10: Annual Academic Sessions of Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists
    28-30 June 2018, Kandy, Sri Lanka (Details)
  • Malaysian Thoracic Society Congress 2018
    12–15 July 2018, Kuantan, Malaysia (Details)
  • 20th International Meeting of Respiratory Care Indonesia (Respina)
    18–21 July 2018, Jakarta, Indonesia (Details)
  • HKTS/CHEST Symposium on Asthma and COPD
    1–2 September 2018, Hong Kong (Details)
  • PCCP 21st Midyear Convention
    6–8 September 2018, Bacolod City, Philippines (Details)
  • 5th Annual Congress of the Vietnam Respiratory Society
    27–28 September 2018, Hanoi, Vietnam (Details)
  • 4th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Malaysian Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
    12–14 October 2018, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia (Details)
  • Special scientific meeting ISR 2018 (Pertemuan Ilmiah Khusus PDPI 2018)
    23–27 October 2018, Semarang, Indonesia (Details)
  • 126th Conference of the KATRD
    8–9 November 2018, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Details)
  • World COPD Day
    21 November 2018, Worldwide (Details)
  • 23rd Congress of the APSR
    29 November – 2 December 2018, Taipei, Taiwan (Details)
  • World AIDS Day
    1 December 2018, Worldwide (Details)

For more pulmonology events, see apsresp.org/calendar.html
(These events are for information only and APSR endorsement should not be assumed.)

Contact

If you have any news or announcement that could be of interest to other APSR members, please submit details to the APSR Bulletin coordinators: Dr Arata Azuma (a-azuma@nms.ac.jp), Dr David C L Lam (dcllam@hku.hk), Dr Shu Hashimoto (hashimoto.shu@nihon-u.ac.jp), or APSR Bulletin (bulletin@apsresp.org).


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