Almost 82 million people in Europe live with chronic respiratory diseases

Even with the availability of diagnostics and treatment, these pathologies remain the sixth leading cause of death and cause $21 billion in damage to the region's economy annually.

"We take 22,000 breaths a day, but respiratory health remains in the shadows. It's time to change our approach and make it a priority," said Professor Silke Ryan, president of the European Respiratory Society.

The report’s authors stress that the healthcare system is failing to detect chronic respiratory diseases early. General practitioners often fail to recognise symptoms or make incorrect diagnoses, and a shortage of equipment (such as spirometers) and a lack of knowledge make matters worse. As a result, millions of people are not receiving the care they need.

Of particular concern is the rising number of new cases – 6.8 million each year – with COPD accounting for 80 percent of deaths related to chronic respiratory diseases. The forecast is grim: by 2050, the number of COPD cases will increase by 23 percent, especially among women and in low- and middle-income countries.

The main culprits of the crisis are tobacco and air pollution. In the European Region, 25.3 percent of adults smoke, higher than the global average of 20.9 percent. In addition, more than 90 percent of the region’s population breathes air polluted with harmful particulate matter.

In addition, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco among young people in the region is widespread, increasing the risk of developing severe forms of lung disease.

The hardest hit, however, is on vulnerable groups who live and work in unsafe conditions and lack access to essential medicines and rehabilitation.

WHO and the European Respiratory Society are calling on countries to urgently integrate the fight against chronic respiratory diseases into overall strategies to combat noncommunicable diseases.