The Healthy Lungs for Life campaign is a joint project undertaken by ERS and the European Lung Foundation (ELF). It is one of the largest lung health campaigns to date. Together, ERS and ELF have been driving the campaign since 2014, in order to raise awareness of the importance of healthy lungs and taking steps towards preventing lung damage.
The campaign targets everyone from clinicians, scientists, policy makers and the public through a wide range of related activities.
The theme for 2017
The theme for the campaign is a continuation of last year’s theme ‘Breathe Clean Air’ but this year we have a specific focus on smoking cessation. The aim is to raise awareness of how we all have a part to play in reducing the number of cases of smoking related lung damage.
We are targeting healthcare professionals specifically to raise awareness of the importance of their role in communicating with patients on this topic. This includes: highlighting the benefits of smoking cessation with patients, and ensuring that as a healthcare professional you have the necessary training to offer effective smoking cessation advice.
Healthy Lungs for Life at Congress
There are a number of scientific sessions and planned activities for professionals and the public taking place at this year’s Congress.
Key campaign activities:
Search the Congress programme for related sessions
You can access the Congress programme online and select the ‘ Healthy Lungs for Life’ tag to view sessions related to this topic.
Healthy Lungs for Life stand
Come and talk to us about how you can get involved in the campaign, including holding a HLfL event; collect a smoking cessation information pack to help you to communicate with your patients about the benefits of quitting smoking. You can also take the opportunity to sign the Charter for Lung Health, which is petitioning to appoint an official World Lung Day.
Patient forum
This event will bring together a respiratory professional alongside a patient as they discuss related issues and benefits of smoking cessation, as well as highlighting how best to communicate on the topic. Although many healthcare professionals find it difficult to approach the topic of smoking cessation with their patients, and many patients struggle to find the self-confidence and motivation to quit, this session will highlight that a focus on positive health and social benefits within smoking cessation discussions offers an empowering approach to support patients to quit.
Lung function testing events
A Healthy Lungs for Life public event will be running in central Milan during the Congress, offering members of the public free spirometry tests and information on their lung health and the benefits of quitting smoking:
- Friday 8 September and Saturday 9 September, 2017, at the Via Beltrami – Castello Sforzesco, central Milan, 10:00-18:00 CEST.
For more information about the Healthy Lungs for Life campaign and to find out how you can bring the campaign to your own community, visit the Healthy Lungs for Life website.