NHS campaign targets lung disease

HEALTH chiefs in Wakefield have launched a campaign over a lung condition affecting thousands of people in the area.

Officials from the new GP-led NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group have joined forces with the British Lung Foundation in the Every Breath initiative to target smoking to prevent cases of Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease (COPD) which affects nearly 9,000 people in the district although thousands more are believed to be undiagnosed.

Nearly 200 died in 2010 from the condition in the area where numbers of cases are 40 per cent higher than the national average.

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Andrew Furber, director of public health for Wakefield, said smoking was the main cause but many were unaware of the condition until it was too late.

“It is a cruel disease but its terrible side effects can be prevented by stopping smoking early enough,” he said.

“For people suffering from the early stages of COPD, symptoms include a shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing.

“However, the progressive disease, which cannot be cured in its advanced stage, makes simple, everyday tasks tremendously 
difficult such as climbing the stairs, hoovering or pushing a pram.”

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