Statement of support for Ukraine

    The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as the unfolding humanitarian disaster created by Russia’s invasion continues. We are deeply concerned about the impact on the health and wellbeing of communities in Ukraine and pledge our strong support to frontline workers, affected members, partner organisations and the 1,7 million people who have had to flee their homes.

    The displacement of thousands of people and the barrage of shelling that damages sanitation and health infrastructures create a humanitarian crisis with devastating health consequences, including exacerbating respiratory diseases that have already escalated due to COVID-19. 

    Ukrainian doctors and nurses have to postpone other care to focus on treating the wounded, despite the desperate shortages of essential hospital supplies, medicines and healthcare staff. WHO has warned that dangerously low oxygen reserves make it difficult to treat severe respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and growing numbers of patients with COVID-19.

    Compounding the risk to patients, critical hospital services are also jeopardized by power shortages, and ambulances transporting patients are in danger of getting caught in the crossfire. Thousands of lives are at risk. 

    As we witness the escalation of atrocities, we call on our members and the wider respiratory community to support humanitarian aid initiatives for the Ukrainian people wherever possible.

    Our FIRS partner, the European Respiratory Society, has collated a list of initiatives giving support to refugees, providing medical aid packages, supporting paramedics and doctors on the front line, and offering emergency responses to children.

    Please consider supporting one or more of these active humanitarian aid initiatives:

    Links to external sources of medical advice can be found in the ERS disaster medicine resource.

    Alongside this call for support, the European Respiratory Society is currently taking steps to suspend collaborations with Russian and Belarusian 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 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).

     

     

     

     

    Joint statement on the implications of Philip Morris International’s acquisition of Vectura

    Issued by: The European Respiratory Society, The American Thoracic Society, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax, the Global Initiative for Asthma.

    As health care organizations focused on respiratory health, our missions demand that we actively address those actions which could contribute to an increase in lung disease and risk to individual and community health. We collectively objected to and campaigned against the highly unethical and inappropriate takeover of an inhaled medicines company by a tobacco company. Despite our best efforts, we are terribly disappointed that shareholders, regulators, and the UK government allowed this acquisition to be approved. This is just the latest example of tobacco companies diversifying into health care and we are very concerned about the implications for patients, scientists, and doctors.

    We are especially alarmed that technology currently used to deliver drugs to treat respiratory diseases could now be used to more efficiently deliver tobacco companies' harmful and addictive products that cause such diseases. This takeover is a dark episode for lung health and health in general and should not be repeated in the future. Tobacco products remain the leading cause of preventable death and disease worldwide. The profits, practices and power of the tobacco industry remain the biggest barriers to change. Past scientific misconduct by the industry has sown justifiable mistrust on the part of respiratory researchers and clinicians. Unified as a community, our organisations will continue to strenuously oppose future acquisitions of health care companies by the tobacco industry.

    Thus, we give official notice that our organizations and members cannot condone new interactions and links with any company wholly owned by a tobacco company such as Phillip Morris International.   This is in accordance with our rules, ethical codes, and the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (the UN Tobacco Control Treaty) guidance.

    Specifically:

    • Employees of tobacco-owned companies will not be permitted to publish papers in our journals or present at future meetings.

    • No products of tobacco-owned companies will be promoted at future events, including educational and scientific meetings, and or at any conferences we cosponsor or endorse.

    • We oppose the use of lung health care technology for addictive and harmful tobacco and nicotine products.

    • We reiterate our refusal to engage in partnerships or accept financial support from tobacco companies.

     • We urge governments to enact legislation in accordance with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to protect public interest, and prevent this tobacco tactic from happening again.

    • Furthermore, we reaffirm the fundamental principle that physicians must act in the patients’ best interests, including prescribing the most effective medication for the patient’s health condition.

    • We recommend that, provided it is appropriate and safe, health care professionals and patients do not use products newly developed by companies owned by the tobacco industry.  

    • Patients requesting to move away from current products of tobacco-owned companies should be given alternatives if appropriate and safe to do so, by their health care professionals.

    For more information contact Fiona Salter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

     
    Healthy Lungs – Never More Important: World COPD Day

    Healthy Lungs – Never More Important: World COPD Day

    17 November 2021

    World COPD Day, 17 November 2021, is an annual global initiative run by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS). The goal of World COPD Day is to raise awareness and present new knowledge and therapeutic strategies for COPD worldwide.

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease that causes breathlessness, chronic sputum production and cough. There are 300 million current cases of COPD in the world, and it is currently the third leading cause of death globally and highly prevalent in low resource countries. Exposure to tobacco smoke and other inhaled toxic particles and gases are the main risk factors for COPD, although recent research has identified that suboptimal lung growth before and after birth can also increase the risk of COPD later in life.

    This year’s theme, “Healthy Lungs - Never More Important” emphasizes that the burden of COPD has not gone away - even during the COVID-19 pandemic, COPD remains a leading cause of death worldwide. This year’s campaign aims to promote lung health by highlighting the importance of staying active, keeping appointments with healthcare providers, reducing exposures, maintaining good nutrition, taking medications correctly, getting vaccinated, participating in pulmonary rehabilitation where available, and taking COVID-19 precautions.

    Initiatives to reduce the burden of COPD are taking place worldwide, including smoking cessation programs, measures to tackle both indoor and outdoor air pollution, as well as examining childhood disadvantage factors. Although there is no current cure for COPD, actions to improve quality of life can take place anywhere by a variety of individuals in many types of settings. Employers can strive for safe breathing environments, citizens can be good stewards of air cleanliness, and both patients and families can help advocate for more research and better access to care, including pulmonary rehabilitation and mental health services.  In addition, healthcare providers and policy makers can work together to improve access to spirometry, essential medications and other treatments, including telehealth and other types of healthcare access for patients in remote settings.

    FIRS invites everyone to participate in World COPD Day events on the 17 November 2021. Further information about GOLD and World COPD Day can be found at www.goldcopd.org/world-copd-day

    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: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), 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), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

    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.

    For more information about FIRS contact Fiona Salter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    More information on COPD:

     

    1. GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, MANAGEMENT, AND PREVENTION OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (2021 REPORT)

     

    1. Projections of Global Mortality and Burden of Disease from 2002 to 2030.
Mathers CD, Loncar D. PLoS Medicine. 2006 Nov 28; 209–22

     

    On World AIDS Day, COVID-19 Vaccines Are Critical

    People living with HIV experience more severe outcomes and have higher comorbidities from COVID-19 than people not living with HIV, according to the 2020 UNAIDS Global Update. In mid-2021, most people living with HIV did not have access to COVID-19 vaccines. This World AIDS Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is calling on governments, health advocates and non-government organisations to strengthen their response to AIDS and COVID-19 by making COVID-19 vaccines more accessible worldwide. 

    COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions disrupted HIV testing. In many counties, this led to steep drops in diagnoses and treatment referrals. In addition to the challenges posed by lockdowns, vaccines have not become accessible to many HIV patients. As of July 2021, less than 3 percent of people living in Africa had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, despite Sub-Saharan Africa being home to 67 percent of people living with HIV.

    As in previous years TB, which has similar symptoms to COVID-19, remains one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV. Among people with latent TB infection, HIV infection is the strongest known risk factor for progressing to TB disease.

     “Patients who are HIV positive remain at high risk for respiratory diseases like TB and COVID-19, so vaccination and early treatment are key,” said Lynn Schnapp, MD, ATSF, president of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), a FIRS founding member. “When treated with preventative therapy, latent TB can be managed, and the COVID-19 vaccines that are widely available in much of the world can reduce the risk of severe illness and death significantly. It’s critical that HIV patients receive access to these lifesaving measures.” 

    The ATS began in 1905 as the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. Today, the ATS, along with other founding members of FIRS, which represents the world's leading respiratory societies, is working to improve lung health globally.

    Since the AIDS epidemic began, the WHO estimates that 79.3 million people have become infected with HIV and 36.3 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

    Education, prevention strategies and new medicines, particularly antiretroviral therapies, have reduced the number of AIDS deaths by 64 percent per year since their global peak in 2004.

    Still, UNAIDS estimates that in 2020, 37.7 million people were living with AIDS and about 1.5 million people became newly infected.

    FIRS believes a global response to HIV/AIDS can be strengthened by:

    • Increasing awareness of the continuing global threat of HIV-related disease and its link to COVID-19 outcomes, TB infections, and other respiratory diseases.
    • Improving the health outcomes of people living with HIV through patient care, including COVID-19 vaccines, and research into improved treatments and treatment strategies for both HIV and TB.
    • Reducing the incidence and severity of HIV-related disease by strengthening mother-to-child transmission prevention programs and increasing the early use of antiretroviral therapy.
    • Improving HIV education in at-risk communities to reduce the incidence of new HIV infections.
    • Reducing HIV-related health disparities and inequities.

     

    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: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), 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), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

    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.

    For more on the global impact of respiratory disease - the Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report outlines major causes of respiratory disease and mortality and lays out recommendations for global action.

     For more information contact Fiona Salter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

     

    Global efforts must be strengthened to end the preventable burden of pneumonia

    Global efforts must be strengthened to end the preventable burden of pneumonia: The Forum of International Respiratory Societies

    12 November 2021

    On World Pneumonia Day, 12 November, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) calls for urgent and expedited progress to end the preventable burden of pneumonia.

    Pneumonia is the single biggest infectious killer of adults and children – claiming the lives of 2.5 million in 2019, including 672,000 children. Boosting efforts to fight pneumonia could avert nearly nine million child deaths from pneumonia and other major diseases by 2030.[1]

    Most pneumonia deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and many are preventable. Exposure to indoor or outdoor air pollution, poor nutrition and lack of vaccination remain major modifiable risk factors for childhood pneumonia. With health facilities struggling with COVID-19, many do not have an adequate supply of oxygen and only 1 in 5 children in low-income countries can access oxygen when they need it [2]. On this World Pneumonia Day, FIRS is asking governments to urgently step-up efforts to strengthen prevention and provide affordable medicines and oxygen to these communities. 

    The COVID-19 pandemic, with almost 241 million cases globally and 4.92 million deaths to date, has highlighted the importance of pneumonia. Furthermore, it has underscored the disproportionate burden of pneumonia, in low- and middle-income countries and particularly in marginalized communities.  Exposed to high levels of air pollution and with poor access to vaccinations and affordable medicines and oxygen therapy, these vulnerable populations carry a huge burden of illness and death.

    To end the preventable burden of pneumonia we must work together to:

    • Raise awareness about pneumonia, the leading killer of young children.
    • Strengthen, accelerate and sustain interventions to prevent and treat pneumonia.
    • Focus on equitable access to, and delivery of, comprehensive pneumonia prevention and control programs.
    • Design strategies to reach vulnerable populations to improve their access to available interventions.

    FIRS calls on governments to:

    • Improve equitable and sustained access to effective pneumonia prevention and control interventions.
    • Strengthen health systems that promptly and effectively deliver strategies to reduce pneumonia deaths, including provision of effective antibiotics and oxygen delivery systems.
    • Increase support for strategies to prevent pneumonia including immunisation with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and COVID-19 vaccines, reducing exposure to tobacco and air pollution, and increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
    • Support research on innovative diagnostic, prevention and treatment strategies. https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/severe-pneumonia-leaves-4-2m-children-desperate-for-oxygen-each-year

    Together, we can end preventable deaths from pneumonia. 

    Media contact Fiona Salter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

    [1] Modelling by Johns Hopkins University, reported by Save the Children, shows that scaling up pneumonia treatment and prevention services can save the lives of 3.2 million children under the age of five. It would also create ‘a ripple effect’ that would prevent 5.7 million extra child deaths from other major childhood diseases at the same time.

    [2] https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/severe-pneumonia-leaves-4-2m-children-desperate-for-oxygen-each-year

    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: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), 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), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).  

    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. 

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