PRESS: World COPD day 2009 - a missed opportunity?

However, there was virtually no coverage of an event of huge importance internationally as well as for the UK: World COPD day 2009.

Maybe this was just bad-luck because of its timing. But COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), whose severity varies remarkably, is a disease whose progression can be stopped through steps such as giving up smoking. Also, it is now appreciated that obesity could be a problem for the UK in the future, in encouraging more cases of COPD (obesity contributes to reflux which is a risk factor for COPD).

COPD is common. About 1 million people in the UK are thought to suffer from. All stakeholders should urge the Government to publish its National Service Framework for COPD, which is long overdue.

It's not too late to raise the profile of COPD in the UK.

The article is available on the internet: http://www.lawandmedicine.co.uk/9.html

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