Healthy Lungs for Life to champion clean air and healthy lungs across Europe with support from Clean Air Fund

ELF and ERS have been awarded a grant from the Clean Air Fund to hold activities and events in up to 14 European cities over two years — to boost public and political awareness of the importance of clean air policies and support countries in implementing the European Union (EU) Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD).

Clean air policies protect health — especially the health of children, the elderly and those living with lung conditions. After the EU adopted the AAQD’s stronger laws on air quality in 2024, it is now down to EU countries to act on air pollution to protect their citizens.

Improving awareness, education, and support for clean air policies 

Healthy Lungs for Life will work in partnership with local communities, patient organisations, healthcare professionals, youth and public health advocates to organise events, activities and discussions that:

• Increase public understanding of air pollution as a health issue;
• Make patient and healthcare voices visible in the debate;
• Build local acceptance of clean air measures;
• Demonstrate the ways that direct community engagement helps to build public support for policy change.

Healthy Lungs for Life will activate the general public and policymakers in countries where the burden of poor air quality and respiratory illness is high. It will combine public engagement events — including free spirometry testing — with school-based educational activities; communications campaigns; stakeholder and media engagement; and engagement with policymakers and political leaders to address issues like air pollution at local, national and international levels.

Following its official launch at the ERS Presidential Summit in Warsaw — in partnership with the Polish Respiratory Coalition — Healthy Lungs for Life will visit cities in Germany, France, Ireland, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Romania and Greece. The programme will also return to Poland for further activities later in 2026, to coincide with the country’s designated Year of Health Prevention.

Air pollution and its threat to health

Respiratory conditions are among the greatest health challenges of our time and impact millions of people across Europe — with air pollution a major contributing factor. In Poland:

• Lung cancer causes 30,000 deaths each year;
• 1.6 million people live with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), many of whom remain undiagnosed;
• 3.4 million people are affected by asthma;
• The economic cost of years lost due to respiratory illnesses is estimated to be zł218 billion (around €51.4 billion) each year.

“Clean air is essential for healthy lungs. By bringing health checks and science to the local population, Healthy Lungs for Life aims to support lasting action that protects respiratory health across Poland and Europe,”said Prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko, ERS President.

“It is inspiring to see a growing commitment across Europe to advancing respiratory health and strengthening the role of patients in decision-making. Making the patient voice visible through Healthy Lungs for Life in Warsaw demonstrates how lived experience can shape solutions and drive meaningful action for clean air and healthier lives”, added Dimitris Kontopidis, ELF Chair.