Over 108,000 people in the West Midlands region living a life blighted by chronic smoking-related lung diseases
Public Health England (PHE) is highlighting the debilitating nature of serious lung diseases for which smoking is the biggest preventable risk factor, after the latest GP figures reveal that the number of people diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the West Midlands region reached 108,367 in 2014-15. Nationally over 1 million people are living with COPD. COPD is the umbrella term for serious lung conditions that include chronic bronchitis and emphysema.