Dust & fumes cause millions of chronic breathing problems
Smoking accounts for most of the 16 million cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but workplace exposure to dust or fumes might account for as many as five million cases of the disease, according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco.
COPD involves chronic lung inflammation, a narrowing of the airways and increasingly severe breathing difficulties. Researchers note that COPD kills more than 100,000 people a year.