Price hikes could devastate the nation’s lungs this winter

Winter is the deadliest season for the estimated 7 million people in the UK with lung conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease. The perfect storm of cold, damp weather and increased circulation of flu, colds and viruses can leave those most vulnerable fighting for breath. This year, the cost of living crisis will only make breathing harder for people – a frightening and dangerous prospect.

With a growing number of homes expected to be tipped into fuel poverty, we’re hearing from people with lung conditions day in day out who are terrified of how they are going to make ends meet and ultimately survive the next few months. Though the cost of living crisis affects most people in some way or another, people with lung conditions are particularly vulnerable to changes in temperature and need to keep their homes comfortably warm to avoid, for example, having an asthma attack triggered by cold air. In the long term, cold weather can also lead to damp and mould, which can also damage people’s lung health.

It’s no surprise that website traffic and calls to our helpline for support with financial advice have shot up. Many people are worried about what’s to come, but we also know that price hikes are having an effect on people’s lives and lungs now. Recent analysis from the charity found that half of people surveyed have already noticed a decline in their lung health since prices began to climb. Around 90 per cent of people surveyed said they’d already made changes to how they live their lives in a bid to save money, including skipping meals, borrowing medicines and using mains-powered machinery to manage their conditions, like nebulisers and oxygen concentrators, less. One in five surveyed said they’d had a life-threatening asthma attack or lung condition flare-up because of changes they’ve made in response to price increases. This situation is untenable.

Skyrocketing bills and costs have shone a light on the clear link between inequality and lung health that has existed for decades.

The increasing cost of living is compounding clear health inequalities, pushing more people below the poverty line and into freezing homes this winter where respiratory viruses can thrive

If you live in the poorest communities in the country, you are seven times more likely to die from a lung condition than if you live in the richest. COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, kills around 30,000 people a year in the UK, provides a stark example of this. People in the poorest areas are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop COPD than those in the most affluent. Inequalities like damp housing, smoking and exposure to dirty, polluted air play an undeniable part in how ill a person with the disease will be. The increasing cost of living is compounding these clear health inequalities, pushing more people below the poverty line and into freezing homes this winter where respiratory viruses can thrive. Covid-19 cases are rising again and if Australia’s experience is anything to go by, we’re expecting a particularly bad flu season this year. We are seriously concerned that the UK is teetering on the edge of a public health crisis.

As a charity, we continue to do all we can to make the case for more targeted financial support for people with lung conditions. Alongside the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, we’ve been campaigning for government action – but we are yet to hear of a commitment to help the most vulnerable with lung conditions who may need additional help to heat homes, pay for prescriptions and run machinery. We are urging healthcare professionals to make their voices heard and encourage the government to step up for people with lung conditions.

We have listened to what our beneficiaries are telling us about their fears and concerns and have updated the financial advice pages on our website to help people find information about welfare benefits, food costs and heating costs. Please make use of these resources with your patients and share them if you can.

People’s lungs should not be bearing the brunt of rising energy and other costs – we won’t stop fighting for people with lung conditions and need to see the government do more and introduce targeted financial support for people with chronic conditions. Otherwise, there’s a serious risk that many more lives could be lost this winter.