ABSTRACT
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major disease on a global scale. It not only shortens life, but has a devastating impact on quality of life. In the United Kingdom (UK) an estimated 3 million people have COPD yet more than 2 million of these remain undiagnosed (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2010). There are 11,000 admissions to hospital with exacerbations of COPD and 30,000 people die of the disease each year. Mortality rates have fallen in men but continue to rise in women, reflecting smoking patterns over the second half of the twentieth century (see Chapter 18). Although in the UK and the United States (US)
smoking prevalence has slowly declined since its peak in the 1970s, worldwide the epidemic of smoking continues to grow. With increasing numbers smoking in China, Africa and Asia, COPD is now the third most common cause of death worldwide. There is an urgent need to improve awareness, prevention and treatment of this disease.
