Dr. Loretta Yam
Chairman
Hong Kong Lung Foundation
A press conference with the title “Respiratory Health in Hong Kong: a worsening scenario” was held on March 19, 2006 in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The press conference has attracted much media attention, and the messages of worsening respiratory health of people in Hong Kong, our Societies’ support for banning of tobacco smoking in public places and the need to improve air quality were clearly disseminated to the public.
A press release prepared by the Hong Kong Lung Foundation to the media is show below:
“There is some recent evidence to suggest that the respiratory health of the people living in Hong Kong is declining.
Two questionnaire surveys were conducted in 1991–1992 and 2003–2004. Subjects aged ≥70 years were invited to complete a respiratory questionnaire. A total of 2032 (999 male) and 1524 (698 male) subjects completed the questionnaire surveys in 1991 and 2003, respectively. It was found that the prevalence of most respiratory symptoms increased overtime after adjusting the data for age, sex, social status and smoking habits. Comparing the symptoms between 1991 and 2003, wheeze over the past 12 months increased from 7.5 to 12.1% and morning chest tightness from 4.2 to 8.8%. The prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed emphysema also increased over time (from 2.4 to 3.1%). The prevalence of respiratory symptoms has increased over the past 12 years and this may be related to environmental factors especially increasing air pollution in Hong Kong.
A territory wide study on the lung function of people living in Hong Kong was carried out between January 2001 and March 2003. Analysis of lung function data was performed in 1,089 18- to 80-year-old nonsmokers. It was found that a significant number of asympatomic and relatively young subjects had impairment in the lung function. This undetected respiratory disease may be the result of environmental factors such as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and air pollution.
The adverse effects of active smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure and air pollution are well known. In fact, ETS exposure is as harmful as first-hand smoking. Both active smoking and ETS exposure are found to be associated with major diseases including cancer, ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive lung disease (these diseases are the 4 of the top 5 killers in Hong Kong). In addition, ETS exposure also has known harmful effect on the health of children. If we do not act now to control tobacco smoking, it is foreseeable that people in Hong Kong will have a big price to pay both financially as well as physically, particularly in term of their lung health.”
