LAHORE: Postgraduate Medical Institute Principal Prof Dr Muhammad Al-Fareed Zafar said smokers are not aware of the dangers of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases which include inflammation of the respiratory tract, oedema, lung disorders, breathing difficulties, infections, and a lack of energy.

Therefore, it is important to discourage smoking at all levels because one person who smokes directly affects 10 people around him. Every year, three million people around the world die due to this disease.

He expressed these views while talking to the participants in the awareness walk organised by the Pulmonology Department of the Lahore General Hospital.

Prof Al-Fareed Zafar said the reason for the spread of this disease is environmental and air pollution, which affects the respiratory systems of workers in factories, traffic smoke, and particles of products produced inside the factory.

He said that to prevent this disease, apart from the government institutions, the people also have to fulfil their responsibilities and take preventive measures to eradicate the causes of the disease.

A person affected by COPD can suffer from diseases like heart disease, lung cancer, and asthma, so there is a strong need to focus on the elimination of this disease.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2022