Respiratory societies call for urgent prioritization of TB detection and treatment in high-burden settings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 24 March 2026

On World TB Day 2026, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) and GOLD are urging governments, international agencies, and the global health community to prioritize evidence-based strategies to stop tuberculosis (TB) transmission and accelerate progress toward ending the disease.

Dr Cassandra Kelly-Cirino is the Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), a FIRS member, said: “Every year we state that we have the tools to treat, cure, and prevent TB, yet the current strategy is not working and will not achieve an end to TB. Without a real shift in approach, this cycle will continue. Something must change.”

Despite advances in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, TB remains a major global health challenge. According to the World Health Organization, over 10 million people develop TB each year, and approximately 1.25 million die. Without a strategic change, global targets to end TB by 2030 and 2035 are unlikely to be met.

Scientific evidence is clear: TB spreads through undiagnosed and untreated infectious individuals. Most TB disease results from recent transmission, and over half of those with active TB may have no symptoms but remain infectious. FIRS calls for prioritising interventions that will reduce TB incidence in high-burden settings, particularly community-wide screening linked to effective treatment.

Kelly-Cirino explained: “If we find and treat everyone with TB, we prevent exposure, stop new infections, and halt onward transmission. This is how we break the chain of TB.”

This approach is proven. Historical evidence from Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia shows that similar strategies sharply reduced TB incidence in the latter half of the 20th century. Today’s diagnostics and treatments offer even greater potential.

While funding constraints and geopolitical instability have slowed TB programmes, FIRS stresses that these challenges cannot delay high-impact, evidence-based interventions. Reducing TB incidence—new infections—must remain the priority.

Ending TB requires action across governments, funders, healthcare professionals, researchers, civil society, and communities. TB disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, and these inequities must be urgently addressed. TB is not inevitable.

FIRS calls on world leaders and donors to urgently invest in interventions that stop TB transmission, including:

• Implementing community-wide screening in high-burden settings with technical and community guidance
• Expanding access to modern diagnostics and effective treatments
• Strengthening accountability for sustained reductions in TB incidence

Professor Guy Marks, President of The Union and Outgoing President of FIRS, concluded: “This is the only way to honor their commitments to end TB, end needless suffering, and protect communities. As champions of lung health, FIRS will continue advocating for evidence-based strategies and giving communities a platform to be heard.”

FIRS reaffirms its commitment to working with member societies and partners worldwide to advance lung health, support communities, and promote science-driven approaches to ending TB.

For more information or to arrange interviews:
Helen Dugdale, Communications Lead, FIRS
Helen.Dugdale@firsnet.org | 07780 614898

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organization comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) agree on diagnostic criteria for COPD 

Joint statement from GOLD/GLI regarding the use of spirometry to define airflow obstruction and diagnose COPD European Respiratory Journal 2026; on line first
[DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02574-2025].

13 March 2026

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) have published a joint statement on the use and interpretation of spirometry for the diagnosis of COPD.

480 million people live with COPD, and 3.7 million die each year.  COPD is the third commonest cause of death globally.  It also creates massive economic costs and a recent study estimated that the global economic burden from COPD will amount to $US40 trillion by 2050.

Many patients remain undiagnosed and spirometry is essential to confirm the diagnosis.  However, for more than 30 years there has been an unproductive debate about how the results of spirometry should be interpreted to confirm the diagnosis in symptomatic patients.

The divergent recommendations about spirometry interpretation have confused primary and secondary care clinicians, as well as lung specialists, leading to the perception that spirometry is a difficult test to perform and interpret, and underuse of the test.

GOLD and GLI have now agreed how spirometry should be interpreted to confirm the diagnosis resolving the confusion.  They also agree that performing spirometry is not difficult and more tests need to be done.

Professor David Halpin, a member of the GOLD Board & Science Committee, commented:

Working with GLI to agree how spirometry should be interpreted to confirm the diagnosis is an important step forward in addressing the huge levels of underdiagnosis of COPD globally.  Both organisations are clear that more spirometry tests need to be performed and we hope that making its interpretation simple will help with this.

UN Member States pledge to increase access to diagnosis and inhaled medicines for the 480 million people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Adoption of the Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing 

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) congratulates UN Member States for recognizing that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of disability and death requiring urgent action and welcomes the call for increased access to diagnosis and inhaled medicines included in the Political Declaration.

Inhaled medicines reduce these health and economic costs.  But currently the long-acting inhaled bronchodilators needed to treat COPD are available and affordable in just 7% of pharmacies and 4% of hospitals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS).

Professor David Halpin, from GOLD, who led the campaign on behalf of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) to get the burden of COPD and the need for better access to diagnosis and management included in the Political Declaration commented:

The 4th High-level UN Meeting ends the era of neglect for chronic respiratory diseases. Governments have listened to our arguments and responded. The burden of COPD is enormous and will inevitably rise further over the next decades particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Governments must now work to implement the declaration and ensure access to affordable inhaled medicines to manage COPD and end the neglect of this common disease.

Professor Alvar Agusti, Chair of the GOLD Board of directors commented:

For many years COPD was considered a self-inflicted disease caused by smoking.  We now know that in many cases, COPD has other causes, including poor development of the lungs in childhood, air pollution and occupational exposures.  The recognition of the burden of COPD by the UN, and the call for improved diagnosis is a huge step forward.

Click here to read the more about the UN high level meeting, or to read the political declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly.

Funding Cuts Put Advances in Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment at Risk

World AIDS Day reminds us that collaboration is necessary to slow TB resurgence: Forum of International Respiratory Societies.

Dec. 01, 2025 – The cuts to USAID in early 2025 dealt a devastating blow to the health infrastructure around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “HIV service disruptions that have resulted from funding challenges in 2025 include staffing shortages, supply chain interruptions, and increased barriers to access for prevention and treatment services.”

This World AIDS Day, GOLD and the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) partners urge collaboration among governments, health advocates, and non-government organizations to slow the resurgence of infectious diseases, including HIV and TB. This collaborative effort is necessary to help realize the WHO’s goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

In regions like South Africa, the Department of Health is the major source of health service delivery and drug procurement. However, external funding such as that provided by USAID and the Centers for Disease Control includes “support for accurate data collection and collation, support for drug forecasting and procurement, health care worker training, health system strengthening and case finding/support,” said Professor Moherndran Archary, pediatric infectious disease specialist, University of KwaZulu-Natal. “While some of these activities have been absorbed within the Department of Health, the sudden and unexpected withdrawal of these services creates a huge void.”

ATS began in 1905 as the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. Today, the ATS and other FIRS members, representing the world’s leading respiratory societies, are working to improve lung health globally. Funding cuts like those initiated by the U.S. have a crippling effect on that work, given the substantial role the U.S. plays in global TB control.

Most deaths in patients with HIV are caused by TB. In countries with a high HIV burden, it is often the first sign a person has HIV. Yet, about half of the people living with HIV and tuberculosis are unaware of their co-infection and, therefore, are not receiving appropriate care that could prevent not only serious illness but death, according to WHO.

Without funding support in low and middle-income countries, we could see progress stalled and a reversal of research advances, including:

• Better alignment of TB services with care-seeking behavior
• Markedly improved diagnostic tests
• Shortened drug regimens – now 6 months instead of 18-24 for drug-resistant TB and in 4 months in drug-sensitive TB
• New and repurposed drugs with much improved regimens for drug-resistant TB
• New regimens for prevention and new TB vaccines
• Recognition of social determinants and economic costs of TB.

In materials provided by ATS member Philip Hopewell, MD, an internationally recognized expert in TB, he noted that these advances were the result of increased funding at the global and country level, the bulk of it from the U.S. Dr. Hopewell explained the consequences of lost funding in an ATS Breathe Easy podcast earlier this year.

Shortly after AIDS emerged, it fueled a global resurgence of TB that continues in many low- and middle-income countries. According to the WHO, people living with HIV are 12 times more likely to fall ill with TB compared to people without HIV. New medicines, particularly antiretroviral therapies, have reduced the number of AIDS-related deaths by 70 percent since the peak in 2004.

According to Prof. Archary, the supply of antiretroviral therapies in South Africa have not been affected. However, shortages have been seen in other Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The UNAIDS 2025 fact sheet notes that in SSA, women and girls accounted for 63 percent of all new HIV infections.

A global collaborative effort is needed to fill the gaps in funding and thwart the rollback of the gains we’ve made to prevent HIV infection and death.

Contact for Media:

Dacia Morris, American Thoracic Society, dmorris@thoracic.org

Helen Dugdale, Forum of International Respiratory Societies, Helen.Dugdale@firsnet.org

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organization comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

The Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report outlines major causes of respiratory disease and lays out recommendations for global action.

Forum of International Respiratory Societies Calls for Immediate Action to Prevent Childhood Pneumonia on World Pneumonia Day 2025

For Immediate Release 12^thNovember 2025

Despite significant progress in recent years, pneumonia remains a leading cause of child mortality, claiming hundreds of thousands of young lives every year. On World Pneumonia Day 12^th November 2025, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is calling for urgent, coordinated action to prevent pneumonia deaths, particularly among children under five and other high-risk populations.

According to the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2023) estimates, pneumonia killed 2.5 million people globally in 2023, including 610,000 children under five and 79,000 children aged 5–14 years (GBD 2023, IHME). Among newborns (<1 month), approximately 186,000 deaths were reported. The UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME 2021) reports similar trends, with 726,000 children under five dying from pneumonia, including 538,000 children aged 1–59 months and 188,000 newborns (UN IGME 2021).

Guy Marks, FIRS President, says: “Pneumonia is entirely preventable and treatable, yet it continues to claim the lives of too many children in low- and middle-income countries. We have effective vaccines and preventive tools — including new interventions against RSV — but access remains limited. Every child deserves the right to survive and thrive.”

Major pathogens causing pneumonia deaths in children under five include (GBD 2023):

• Streptococcus pneumoniae: 197,000
• Klebsiella pneumoniae: 75,000
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa: 46,000
• E. coli: 33,000
• Staphylococcus aureus: 31,000
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): 27,000
• Influenza virus: 25,000

For newborns (<28 days), the leading causes are Klebsiella pneumoniae (34,000), Streptococcus pneumoniae (24,000), and RSV (9,000) (GBD 2023).

High-risk countries bear the largest burden. For children under five, 60% of deaths occur in just ten countries: India (129,000), Nigeria (94,000), Pakistan (31,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (22,000), Niger (22,000), Ethiopia (13,000), Chad (12,000), Indonesia (11,000), Tanzania (9,000), and Angola (7,000) (GBD 2023). Globally, leading risk factors for children include malnutrition, household air pollution, lack of handwashing, exposure to tobacco smoke, and high environmental temperatures (GBD 2023).

FIRS is calling on governments, global partners, and donors to take immediate steps to accelerate child survival through:

1. Expanding access to lifesaving vaccines: pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and newly available RSV vaccines and long-acting monoclonal antibodies.
2. Strengthening health systems to ensure timely diagnosis, antibiotics, and oxygen therapy reach every child.
3. Addressing key risk factors such as malnutrition, household air pollution, and low immunization coverage.
4. Promoting maternal and newborn health through vaccination, breastfeeding, and neonatal care programs.
5. Supporting research and innovation to develop cost-effective interventions for low-resource settings.
6. Committing to global targets: The Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) aim for no more than 3 pneumonia deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025, equivalent to approximately 400,000 deaths (WHO GAPPD 2021).

“Pneumonia deaths are preventable, but action must be immediate and equitable. With the right investments and policies, we can reach global targets and save hundreds of thousands of children’s lives this decade,” concluded Guy.

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Helen Dugdale, communications lead, FIRS Helen.Dugdale@firsnet.org

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.   FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

Data references

1. GBD 2023, IHME: Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
2. UN IGME 2021: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Levels & Trends in Child Mortality 2021. UNICEF, WHO, World Bank Group.
3. WHO GAPPD 2021: Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea. World Health Organization.

International Respiratory experts Use World Lung Cancer Day to Stress the Importance of Lung Cancer Screening and Risk Factor Awareness

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Globally, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide for both men and women. In 2020, there were 2.5 million new lung cancer cases globally and 1.80 million deaths.

In support of World Lung Cancer Day on August 1, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, stresses the importance of awareness and understanding of lung cancer risk factors, as well as the importance of early detection through lung cancer screening.

While smoking is the single greatest risk factor for lung cancer, accounting for 85% of all cases, other lesser-known risk factors include the environmental exposures—including air pollution—and genetics. Environmental exposure to radon, asbestos, arsenic, beryllium and uranium has been linked to lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer also increases with a history of cancer in another part of the body, age, family history, radiation to the chest area and lung diseases like COPD.

“By coming together as a community of respiratory experts, we can impact the future of lung cancer care,” said Guy Marks, President of FIRS. “Through global collaboration, we have the power to raise awareness of lung cancer risk factors and to encourage early lung cancer screenings. The earlier lung cancer is detected, the sooner a patient can begin treatment. Lives can be saved through earlier detection and, together, we can positively impact the outcome of a lung cancer diagnosis.”

In the United States of America, the 2021 guideline for lung cancer screening from the American College of Chest Physicians, recommend that anyone who is a current tobacco user or has a history of smoking and are 50 years or older, may be a candidate for a screening low-dose CT scan. This is a step that can potentially detect lung cancer in its earliest stages.

Lung cancer symptoms can include a cough that does not go away, chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss, and lung infections that keep coming back. Tests that may be used to diagnose lung cancer include physical examination, imaging (chest x-rays, CT scans, and MRI), bronchoscopy, or biopsy.

Resources:

• A guideline with systematic evaluation of criteria for lung cancer screening, “Screening for Lung Cancer: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report,” can be accessed through the journal CHEST^®.
• To learn more about lung cancer screening, visit https://www.iarc.who.int/infographics/benefits-and-harms-of-lung-cancer-screening/.
• For tobacco cessation resources, visit https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/tobacco-control.

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 100,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

Utrecht, 26 June – In a joint appeal published in The Lancet, 44 leading scientific and social organisations from across the globe including The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)  and its partner organisations, are calling on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to take urgent action to save millions of young lives by protecting them against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

GAVI is a global partnership that works to ensure access to life-saving vaccines for children in the poorest countries. In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other partners and donors, Gavi has already saved millions of lives by vaccinating children against other major life-threatening diseases.

RSV is a highly contagious virus that causes serious illness in many young children every year. Worldwide, more than 100,000 children under the age of five die from RSV every year, with 97% of these occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  Infants under six months old are particularly vulnerable, accounting for approximately 45% of RSV-related deaths.  These deaths and serious illnesses can be prevented by vaccinating mothers or by giving babies protective treatment after birth.

In 2018, the Gavi Board acknowledged RSV as a priority and signalled support for adding RSV immunisation to its vaccine portfolio, as soon as effective products have been approved by the Strategic Advisory Group of experts (SAGE) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and sufficient funding is available.

Now, two highly effective products have been approved and introduced in many high- and upper-middle-income countries: the RSVpreF vaccine for pregnant women and RSV monoclonal antibody Nirsevimab for newborn babies. In 2024, the WHO’s SAGE recommended that “All countries introduce products for the prevention of severe RSV disease in infants.”

The availability of sufficient funding is a prerequisite for GAVI to expand its vaccine portfolio with products that protect infants against RSV. However, global funding for vaccination programmes is under growing pressure. This has far-reaching consequences for countries with high child mortality and places additional pressure on Gavi’s budget and its ability to support the introduction of new life-saving interventions.

Heather Zar, paediatric respiratory health specialist at the University of Cape Town and a FIRS and a Pan African Thoracic society Ex-Co member who co-authored the letter, said:

“RSV is a major cause of pneumonia, hospitalisation and deaths in low- and middle-income countries.  But this burden is now preventable with one of two new highly effective interventions that are being widely used in high income countries.  However, it is urgent that these become available and accessible to all infants especially in areas with the greatest burden globally. On behalf of 44 global leading scientific and social organisations we urge the Gavi board to prioritise RSV prevention and expand access to protect all children against RSV disease, regardless of where they are born.”

Media contact: Fiona.salter@firsnet.org

International Respiratory Societies Unite on World Bronchiectasis Day 2025 to Urge Global Awareness and Collaboration

This Rare Lung Disease is Increasing; Members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies Unite to Improve Early Detection

JULY 1, 2025 – According to the 2022 Global Impact of Respiratory Disease Report, the global presence of non–cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis ranges from 67 to 566 per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe and North America and from 1,200 per 100,000 inhabitants in China in those aged 40 or older.

In support of World Bronchiectasis Day, July 1, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, is calling attention to the growing burden of this lesser-known chronic lung disease and the urgent need for increased awareness, diagnosis and coordinated care.

Bronchiectasis is a lung disease that affects hundreds of thousands of children and adults worldwide. With this chronic illness, the airways become enlarged or scarred, making it difficult to clear mucus properly, leading to recurring lung infections and affecting daily life. Unmanaged, bronchiectasis can lead to accelerated lung function loss resulting in long-term disability and premature death. The disease can occur at any age, though most people are diagnosed later in life. Although there is currently no cure, detecting and treating bronchiectasis early can improve quality of life and improve long term health.

While bronchiectasis is often referred to as a rare disease, its occurrence is increasing globally. In children, especially those in poor communities, bronchiectasis may occur following a lower respiratory tract infection or pneumonia such as whooping cough or viral infection.

“Bronchiectasis continues to be a widely misunderstood and underdiagnosed respiratory disease, affecting individuals around the world,” says Guy Marks, President of FIRS. “As global leaders in respiratory health, World Bronchiectasis Day is an opportunity for us to spotlight this chronic lung disease and the people it impacts. We stand together to advocate for better care pathways, patient education and research funding.”

Celebrated annually on July 1, World Bronchiectasis Day aims to unite healthcare providers, researchers, patients and advocacy organizations in a shared mission: to improve early detection, foster research into the causes and treatments of bronchiectasis, and ensure that patients across all regions have access to comprehensive, multidisciplinary care.

The 2025 World Bronchiectasis Day campaign emphasizes the importance of cross-border collaboration, particularly in regions where bronchiectasis is underreported and underdiagnosed or healthcare systems face barriers to early diagnosis and long-term management.

To learn more about bronchiectasis and to support annual World Bronchiectasis Day, visit worldbronchiectasisday.org.

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 100,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

Stop tobacco industry tactics targeting young people, say international lung health experts

On World No Tobacco Day (31 May, 2025) the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), including member GOLD, supports the World Health Organization’s (WHO) efforts to expose and condemn the tobacco industry’s harmful tactics—many of which are aimed at young people.

This year’s World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) – themed ‘Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products’ – aims to reveal the strategies employed by the tobacco and nicotine industries to make their harmful products enticing.

FIRS, founded by leading international respiratory societies and representing over 100,000 respiratory health professionals, joins the WHO in raising awareness, advocating for stronger policies—including a ban on flavours that make tobacco and nicotine products more appealing—and protecting public health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 88 countries have no minimum age for purchasing e-cigarettes, and 74 countries lack any form of regulation for these products. According to the most recent WHO data, only four countries ban all flavours in e-cigarettes, while another four allow or restrict specific flavours. Just 11 countries prohibit all forms of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of e-cigarettes, compared to 36 with partial bans, and six with no regulations. These gaps leave young people particularly vulnerable to targeted e-cigarette marketing.

FIRS supports the WHO’s call for a collective commitment to a healthier future and calls for policies to protect young people to be implemented as soon as possible.

Dr Filippos Filippidis, Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Tobacco Control Committee, said: “The tobacco industry has always been targeting young people, making their products appealing using various strategies. Many countries have made substantial progress in limiting this ability through comprehensive bans in advertising and promotion, plain packaging, health warnings and restrictions on flavours. However, we continue to see products such as heated tobacco, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches being successfully marketed to young people. The rise in the use of these products is a concerning trend that requires urgent action, both at a political and societal level.

“By working together to bring about a tobacco-free generation, we can help save millions of lives. The most important thing we can do right now is ensure that the tobacco industry cannot freely appeal to young people – we must create a sensible barrier to protect them from harmful products.”

More information on this year’s WNTD can be found on the WHO website.

Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL, Say Respiratory Health Organizations

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies launches new campaign to increase access to asthma treatment.

On World Asthma Day 2025 (6 May), the call to action is clear: ‘Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL’. To highlight the lack of access to inhaled medicines for asthma and COPD in low-resource, high-burden settings, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is launching an education campaign Increasing Access to Inhaled Medicines. The campaign will engage governments, the United Nations, global health agencies, industry, donors and civil society organizations to take coordinated action to ensure availability of proven, effective treatments. GOLD is a founding member of FIRS.

Asthma affects over 260 million people and causes more than 450,000 deaths each year. It is also the commonest chronic disease in children and adolescents, affecting around 15% of young adolescents globally.  Most of these deaths are preventable. Inhaled corticosteroid-containing medications are essential for managing asthma and preventing life-threatening attacks. But in many low- and middle-income countries—where 96% of global asthma deaths occur—access to these proven treatments remains dangerously limited.

Frontline healthcare professionals are critical to improving outcomes for people with asthma – we urge doctors and health care professionals to ensure that every individual with asthma receives appropriate, evidence-based treatment. This includes prescribing essential inhaled corticosteroid-containing medication—either alone or in combination with a reliever—to reduce the persistent burden of preventable asthma-related morbidity and mortality.

On World Asthma Day, FIRS and its members call on all sectors to step up efforts to ‘Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL’.

World Asthma Day was first organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in 1998 and has grown each year to become one of the most important asthma events globally, with hundreds of awareness-raising activities taking place all over the world.

GINA’s global asthma strategy and resources are available at www.ginasthma.org and www.ginasthma.org/reports.

For more on asthma treatment, watch and listen to the ATS Breathe Easy podcast on biologics to treat asthma.

FIRS Increasing Access to Inhaled Medicines campaign aims to improve availability of essential inhaled therapies for asthma and COPD in low-resource, high-burden settings. The campaign will engage governments, international agencies, industry, donors and civil society to take coordinated action. With the 2025 UN High-level Meeting on NCDs approaching, the campaign highlights the urgent need for investment and policy change to ensure equitable access to effective, affordable inhaled medicines. Learn more here.