June 2017 saw the Annual ERS Presidential Summit meet in Ghent, Belgium. Entitled “A public health approach to respiratory health”, the Summit brought together respiratory specialists and public health voices to discuss what respiratory health now means in terms of public health. In looking at public health and prevention, the Summit took up themes from the European Lung White Book with debate centred on public health pyramid for respiratory health , while drawing on approaches from other disease areas.
It was in these discussions that the foundations of the ERS 10 Principles for Lung Health were set, and in turn developed together with representatives of all specialities of ERS through a roundtable discussion held in February 2018 in Brussels. In setting out the ERS 10 Principles for Lung Health, the Society proposes a call to action to improve respiratory health which it invites all stakeholders – politicians, policy makers, patients and the public – to support. The 10 Principles are, as such, intended as an advocacy tool for all involved in lung health. This editorial aims to provide a summary of the 10 Principles and an overview of the points raised therein.