Brussels, 20/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 November, during the COPD - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day, the European COPD Coalition explained that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease affected 10% of adults in Europe and is currently the 5th biggest cause of death worldwide. Few political decision-makers are aware of the statistics and little action is carried out at a European level to increase awareness about the scale of this disease.
During an information session at the European Parliament organised by the COPD Coalition, Catherine Stihler (S&D, United Kingdom) stated that the first stage involved effectively examining this health threat and focusing more attention on the facts. Adám Kósa (EPP, Hungary) underlined the significant health and oxygen requirements for patients who are severely suffering from the disease, which also meant high costs for the families affected. He added that “more needs to be done at European and national levels, as in Hungary, where access to tobacco products has been successfully restricted”. This chronic obstructive disease is mistakenly called “smoker's cough” and according to the European COPD Coalition costs health budgets €10.3 billion in health care and treatments provided in Europe every year. Catharine Hartmann, the secretary general of the Coalition, concluded that COPD could largely be prevented and through more developed research it could be treated and managed much better. She urged EU political decision-makers to take these facts into consideration and follow the Coalition's recommendations. (IL)