Healthy lungs, healthy life

How often have we met people who endure breathlessness while climbing a flight of stairs, or who cough continuously even during routine activities. Most of them cite ageing symptoms, some of them are smokers and understand that it is an adverse effect of smoking. However, the rest are usually unfortunate victims of living in polluted environments, including those subjected to passive smoking.

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is the third leading cause of deaths worldwide and India alone bears 32% of the global burden.

- Global Burden of Disease Report 2019.

While COPD has no definite cure, it's manageable if detected early. However, many ignore the early signs only to have the condition detected much later, with fewer treatment options. On the other hand, in developing countries, the condition often gets underdiagnosed or even misdiagnosed due to lack of training or poor infrastructure.

We at Cipla have been at the forefront in combatting this rising burden with initiatives like #Breathefree and #LungAttack, which have helped millions of patients across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. As leaders in respiratory, we understand the importance of creating awareness, evolving the healthcare infrastructure for early diagnosis, having the right treatment options available, thus enabling the entire respiratory healthcare ecosystem. Our unique knowledge-sharing forums like Healthcare Superstars feature world-class doctors sharing respiratory issues and real experiences to deal with respiratory complications with global healthcare practitioners. Through Cipla Foundation, we have been collaborating with the State governments to run initiatives to scale access for respiratory care.

The COPD burden can no longer be ignored. In addition to regular lung health check-ups, due importance needs to be placed on early and accurate diagnosis. #Spirometry has been the gold standard for COPD diagnosis. However, the bulky size, complex functionality and the need for regular maintenance impacted the widespread acceptance of conventional spirometers – a bottleneck especially in low- and middle-income countries.

?In an endeavour to break barriers and bridge this gap in obstructive airway diseases (OAD)-diagnosis, after years of rigorous research, Cipla recently launched the revolutionary – #Spirofy

Today, when the topic of #airpollution is so grave and we are looking for solutions, the industry and community need to come together to collaborate on #sustainability initiatives – be it tree plantation, reducing emission, switching to cleaner fuel alternatives etc. Let’s pledge to care for our source of life, our #lungs and together rally forces to help the world breathe better, breathe free.