Why are lung specialists publicising the burden of lung disease?
They feel that their area is comparatively underfunded and ignored relative to heart disease and cancer. While both coronary heart disease and cancer have been the subject of detailed national plans aimed at reducing the toll of death and disability, lung disease has not received such special attention. The number of chest specialists, they say, is only a third of the EU average. Deaths from lung disease in the UK are high compared to Europe – Ireland is the only EU country with higher death rates. What could the government do to help the situation? The government still argues that heart disease and cancer are its top priorities – and that these have to be tackled. Deaths caused by heart disease, and cancer are more likely to happen slightly earlier in life, than deaths from pneumonia and influenza deaths – the bulk of which are in the over 75s. Someone who dies from a heart attack at 65 might be said to have lost eight to 10 more years of potential extra life based on the average life
