PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed until: Wednesday, 10 March 2010 – 00:01 HRS
Royal Brompton experts provide vital lung health check on
National No Smoking Day
On the 27th National No Smoking Day, Wednesday, 10 March 2010, visitors at The Plaza Shopping Centre, Oxford Street, London will be offered free lung health screening by some of the country’s leading respiratory doctors from Royal Brompton Hospital, who will be available to give expert advice.
Smoking is the main cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an umbrella term for a number of conditions including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which affect not only a person’s ability to breathe, but also limits their social and daily life.
Such conditions are progressive and irreversible and kill approximately 30,000 people a year in the UK – more than breast, bowel or prostate cancer. Most sufferers of COPD are smokers or ex-smokers - between 80 to 90 per cent of all deaths from COPD are due to smoking.
Leading the awareness day at The Plaza Shopping Centre, Dr. Nicholas Hopkinson, consultant respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital, said, “The purpose of today’s lung testing at The Plaza Shopping Centre is to encourage people to give up smoking and find people who may be suffering from COPD.
“We know that an estimated three million people are living with the condition undiagnosed. Without early diagnosis and treatment these lives will be lost or severely restricted. People over the age of 35 who smoke are particularly at risk of developing irreparable lung disease.”
Visitors at The Plaza Shopping Centre are encouraged to visit Royal Brompton Hospital’s stand where they can take a spirometry test. The test shows how well the lungs are functioning and assesses any disease symptoms.
Results are immediate and specialist respiratory doctors and healthcare professionals from the hospital will be available to give expert advice on smoking cessation.
Royal Brompton Hospital’s lung screening stand will be positioned in the food court area (3rd floor) at the Plaza Shopping Centre, 120 Oxford Street, London W1D 1LT which is located between Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus underground stations. The stand will be open from 11.00 until 18:30 on Wednesday, 10 March 2010.
COPD is a major and growing public health problem affecting about 10 per cent of people over the age of 40 worldwide.
Ends/
For further information please contact:
Shima Islam, head of media relations
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Tel: 020 7351 8672 (Brompton)
Tel: 01895 828 877 (Harefield)
Mobile: 07866 536 345
Email: S.Islam@rbht.nhs.uk
Notes to editors:
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe. The Trust helps over 8,000 adults who have breathing problems caused by diseases such as COPD and severe asthma.
The Trust runs a smoking cessation clinic at Royal Brompton Hospital. Patients attending the clinic will be given one-to-one counselling and vouchers for nicotine replacement therapy if deemed suitable. The programme is six weeks in length following the guidance form Kensington and Chelsea Stop Smoking Service.
