Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D.

In recognition of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) declaring 2010 as the “Year of the Lung,” the ATS brought together an international group of medical society leaders to discuss the need for greater awareness, research and public health policy to defeat lung disease worldwide. The group discussed these issues with members of the media at a press conference yesterday morning.

In illustrating why the “Year of the Lung” campaign is needed, Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D., who will become the president of the ATS at this afternoon’s Membership Meeting, showed photographs of respiratory health issues around the world—masked people in India trying to protect themselves from air pollution and masked South Koreans trying to fend off the H1N1 flu virus.

Dr. Schraufnagel emphasized that tobacco use has declined in the United States, but that it remains a growing problem worldwide. In India, a pack of cigarettes costs as little as eight cents and candy tobacco is given to children. In China, more than 60 percent of men smoke, while U.S. tobacco regulation has led companies to sell more products overseas, he said.

“Our response to the worldwide increase in the prevalence of COPD is to organize the ‘Year of the Lung,'” said Dr. Schraufnagel, “and to encourage greater awareness, both public and private, of lung health issues and to promote lung research.”

The “Year of the Lung” was launched in December 2009 at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health, in Cancun, Mexico, by members of FIRS, including the American College of Chest Physicians, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), European Respiratory Society, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Latin American Thoracic Society and Pan-African Thoracic Society. Representatives of many of these organizations attended the press conference to educate the media about COPD and other pulmonary disorders.

“COPD causes three million deaths worldwide per year and about half of those are in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Norbert Berend, M.D., past president of the APSR, from Sydney, Australia. “In China, 12.4 percent of the population over age 40 has COPD. By 2020, COPD will become the third most common cause of death worldwide.”

At the same time, China is also leading the world in developing zero-emission industries. We need to focus on the developing world, but also recognize that progress is being made in China, he added.

“Lung disease has not gotten the same attention of our government and the media as has deaths from cancer and heart disease,” said Teresa Barnes, chair of the ATS Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR) and vice president for patient outreach and advocacy for the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis. “An enormous amount of money has been invested in other diseases, which is wonderful, but lung disease is on the rise and more resources are needed. Resources mean cures, and the ‘Year of Lung’ campaign brings awareness to that. With your help, it can literally save lives.”

In response to a question about advances in research related to lung diseases, Dr. Schraufnagel noted that the greatest breakthroughs have come from understanding the basic biological mechanisms and processes of pulmonary disorders.

“We used to say was there a gene for asthma, for example. Well, now we know that there are hundreds of genes implicated in asthma,” Dr. Schraufnagel said. “Many lung diseases are near breakthroughs in cures, and our point here today is that awareness of lung disease and research is critical. And that’s what we will do during the ‘Year of the Lung.'”