Lung Health

From the moment we enter the world, the urge to breathe

is the most compelling drive we share. Breathing is the life force that gives us energy, strength, and resilience. It’s something that we do all the time — 22,000 times a day, every day of our lives. It’s so natural and automatic that most of us never even think about it; this lifegiving act just happens and goes mostly unnoticed.

That is not the case for the one in five Canadians who struggle to breathe. For them, breathing is hardly ever automatic. Rather, it’s a constant struggle that affects almost every aspect of their daily lives.

While Canada has come a long way in understanding and treating lung disease, breathing challenges continue to exact an enormous human and economic toll. The numbers are simply staggering. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has become the number one cause of hospitalization, asthma attacks cause over 70,000 emergency room visits annually, and lung cancer takes more lives than breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancers combined.

At The Lung Association, this is what keeps us pushing ahead, whether it’s searching for cures to lung diseases, helping people to quit smoking and ensuring that children never start, or fighting for clean air.

We simply can’t afford to take our breathing for granted any longer. It’s time we #TakeABreather.