Message from Raed Dweik, MD, MBA, ATSF, American Thoracic Society President, on World Lung Day
Each year on Sept. 25, the American Thoracic Society joins the global respiratory community in marking World Lung Day, initiated by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, of which the ATS is a proud founding member. This year’s theme of “Healthy Lungs, Healthy Life” is both simple and profound. It captures the essence of our mission at the ATS: to help the world breathe.
Lung health remains a global challenge. Respiratory diseases continue to rank among the leading causes of death and disability, touching every corner of the world. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution – both outdoor and household – contributes to 6.7 million premature deaths each year, and only one in 10 people worldwide breathe air considered safe. These numbers are sobering, but they are also a call to action. Lung health is inseparable from overall health, and this World Lung Day, we have an opportunity to recommit ourselves to protecting and promoting respiratory wellness – for everyone, everywhere.
Moving the Needle on Global Lung Health
Launched this year, the FIRS Lung Health Taskforce is an ambitious initiative designed to improve how we measure, manage, and understand lung health worldwide. In partnership with the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI), this effort is bringing together experts from around the globe to lay the foundation for a universal standard in respiratory assessment.
Among its priorities, the Taskforce is developing a standardized spirometry toolkit to make lung function testing more reliable and accessible, particularly in parts of the world where resources are limited. It is also exploring a groundbreaking Lung Health Index – a new way to measure overall respiratory wellness that integrates environmental, biological, and social factors. And, perhaps most importantly, the Taskforce is working toward global consensus on best practices, ensuring clinicians, researchers, and policymakers everywhere have access to the same evidence-based tools and approaches.
This work is transformative. Establishing common standards and frameworks for assessing lung health will help break down inequities, close diagnostic gaps, and enable health care systems around the world to deliver better care.
ATS Advocacy: Defending Lungs, Lives, and Science
Protecting lung health requires more than clinical advances – it also demands strong, science-based policies. That has been the focus of the ATS Washington, D.C., office, where our advocacy efforts remain central to the Society’s mission; perhaps now more than ever. Over the past several months, we’ve been deeply engaged in efforts to preserve scientific integrity, protect clean air, and safeguard public health.
Last month, we joined a coalition of major medical and health organizations in filing an amicus brief supporting New York and other states in their legal challenge against the sweeping effort to reorganize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The administration’s restructuring plan included eliminating federally mandated health programs, severely undermining public health initiatives. In our brief, the ATS focused specifically on the devastating impact these actions have had on tobacco control efforts, including the dismantling of the CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health and deep staff cuts at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products – changes that make it nearly impossible for federal agencies to fulfill their legal obligations to protect public health. While the case New York et al. v. Kennedy is still pending, a preliminary injunction has temporarily halted the administration’s restructuring plans.
Recently, the ATS joined more than 90 leading scientific and professional organizations in urging the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to uphold the long-standing “gold standard” of scientific integrity. Our message was clear: any policy decisions affecting public health must be grounded in rigorous, transparent science. The success of federally funded research, from vaccine development to climate science, depends on safeguarding the independence and credibility of our scientific ecosystem.
We also continue to lead efforts to protect clean air and address climate change. At a recent public hearing of the Environmental Protection Agency, the ATS provided compelling testimony against the proposed rollback of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding, a cornerstone policy that gives the agency authority to regulate GHG emissions. At a time when the evidence linking air pollution to respiratory disease, cardiovascular illness, and premature death has never been stronger, revoking the Endangerment Finding would strip the EPA of its ability to manage emissions from vehicles, power plants, and fossil fuel operations.
These aren’t abstract policy debates; they have real consequences for our patients. Every weakened standard, every lost protection, translates into more respiratory illness, more asthma exacerbations, and more preventable deaths.
Our advocacy on Capitol Hill, in the courts, and in the public arena, is driven by one belief: science must guide policy and protecting lung health must remain a national priority.
Why World Lung Day Matters
Around the globe, respiratory diseases such as COPD, asthma, tuberculosis, lung cancer, and the lasting effects of COVID-19 continue to claim millions of lives each year. Too many of these deaths are preventable. Low- and middle-income countries and underserved communities, where health care resources are limited and access to treatments remain scarce, are disproportionately affected.
By raising awareness, promoting prevention, and advocating for evidence-based policies, the ATS and our partners hope to change these outcomes. World Lung Day gives us an opportunity to bring these conversations into our local communities while advancing a global movement for respiratory health.
In New York City, home to the ATS headquarters, our members, including George Thurston, ScD, have documented some of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the South Bronx – rates closely linked to air pollution exposure. On Sept. 25, the ATS will host an event at the La Central YMCA (434 Westchester Ave., Bronx) from 2 to 6 p.m. ET to address these challenges directly. Through educational activities, interactive discussions with health care providers, and the distribution of ATS patient education materials, we aim to raise awareness at a grassroots level, fostering trust and advancing health equity within the community. I encourage you to drop in if you’re in the neighborhood!
There are a few other ways you can show your support: first, download the World Lung Day Toolkit, which includes graphics and sample social media posts to help raise awareness in your communities and networks. Be sure to use #WorldLungDay and tag @FIRS_LungsFirst and @atscommunity to join the conversation.
Second, I invite you to register for the FIRS World Lung Day Webinar, Redefining Lung Health, taking place on Sept. 25 at 8 a.m. ET. This event will spotlight the work of the FIRS Lung Health Taskforce, showcasing global efforts to expand access to essential inhaled medicines, and explore how we can better assess and improve lung health worldwide. With the United Nations’ High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases in session that day, this is a timely and urgent conversation you won’t want to miss.
Together, we can shine a light on the burden of lung disease worldwide, support groundbreaking initiatives, and advocate fiercely for policies that protect the air we breathe and the patients we serve, so that everyone – everywhere – has the chance to breathe clean air and live a healthy life.
Raed Dweik, MD, MBA, ATSF
ATS President