Asthma: the hidden truth

4.47.42pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 3rd May 2005

On the occasion of World Asthma Day results of a new survey by EFA (European Federation of Allergy and Airway Disease Associations) on the effects of asthma on patients have been released. Liz Lynne (UK, Lib Dem and ALDE spokesperson on disability issues) opened the presentations by highlighting the huge number of sufferers and recalled her personal experiences in living with the condition and the difficulties of raising awareness even amongst fellow MEPs.

"So-called 'hidden' disabilities like asthma are not always given the seriousness they deserve because they are not always immediately obvious to people" she said. "It is often the case that awareness of asthma as a severe illness is minimal unless one witnesses an asthma attack first hand. Yet up to one third of EU citizens suffer from one form of asthma or another and the number of children with the condition has doubled in the last ten years."

Commenting on the way forward Liz Lynne observed that "the voluntary segregation approach has not worked. Many bars, clubs and restaurants remain out of bounds for asthma sufferers as a result of the smoke particles in the atmosphere. Whilst many environmental triggers such as pollen are difficult to avoid at certain times of the year, public policy on smoking can make a real difference to the lives of millions of Europe's citizens. Each Member State needs to take action on this but since health is not an exclusive EU competence it does not make sense to attempt to legislate at an EU level."

Presenting the detailed results of the survey of 1300 asthma sufferers across the Community, Martin Dockrell (Assistant Director of Policy for Asthma UK) pointed out that 1 in 4 suffer from sleep deprivation whilst one person in Europe dies every hour as a result of asthma. 20% of asthma sufferers feel disadvantaged or even discriminated in the work place whilst 90% remain dependent on medication (98% in France). Exposure to smoke is a serious problem for sufferers with over half of all Spanish asthma sufferers likely to come in contact with second-hand smoke at home or at work.

"Research should be disseminated to all Member States and good practice replicated" concluded Liz Lynne."The European Commission can play a useful role in this regard".