EU Screening Week 2026: Healthy Lungs for Life activities took lung health checks to communities across Europe

The campaign, which ran from 28 September to 4 October 2026 and was launched by Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, encouraged people across Europe to protect their health by learning about the steps they can take to prevent non-communicable conditions and how they can monitor their health throughout their lifetime with regular health checks, such as spirometry (lung function) tests. 

Healthy Lungs for Life partners hosted activities in Poland, Greece, Spain, Romania and Belgium, with events ranging from free lung function testing to public information sessions offering expert advice on smoking cessation, air quality and vaccination.

In Brussels, working with the Belgian Lung Foundation more than 300 people received a lung health check outside the European Commission headquarters, including members of the public and European Commissioners. 

In Poland the Polish Federation of Asthma, Allergy and COPD Patients Associations ran Polish Spirometry Day 2026 providing over 500 free lung health checks in Wrocław, Kraków and Katowice, alongside six additional cities. 

In Greece, Healthy Lungs for Life organised three days of lung testing events in Vyronas and Argyroupolis, with support from MEP Nikos Papandreou and the Mayor of Vyronas. 

Similar events were held at Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, through the Romanian Society of Pneumology in Bucharest and at the Berlaymont in Brussels. 

These opportunities gave people the chance to understand more about their lung health and learn how to prevent lung conditions. 

About Healthy Lungs for Life 

For more than a decade, Healthy Lungs for Life, a collaborative initiative of the European Lung Foundation ELF and the European Respiratory Society, has supported events and projects that help people learn more about their lungs and take action to protect their lung health. 

EU Screening Week demonstrated how organisations across Europe worked together to make lung health checks accessible and to promote the importance of including lung health screening alongside other routine health assessments. 

To learn more about Healthy Lungs for Life and find resources for running lung health activities, visit the campaign website.