RESPIRA launched a national awareness campaign on COPD RESPIRA in partnership with one of the leading Portuguese coffee roasters DELTA CAFÉS launched a national awareness campaign on COPD and other respiratory chronic diseases. In June, thousands of small sugar packs were distributed and used by thousand of Portuguese people when drinking their espressos, which means for most Portuguese at least once a day! Those small packs of sugar have a simple sentence: “NOBODY NEEDS TO FEEL LONELY WHEN BREATHING” drawing attention for the support and information RESPIRA gives to people with respiratory chronic diseases. Free Asthma Clinic in Tallaght on 15th June 2013 Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma worldwide and 470,000 people in Ireland suffer with the condition. In Dublin alone, 1 in 10 adults suffer from asthma. Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be managed. Yet nearly 60% of Irish asthma sufferers do not have their asthma under control, and more than one person a week dies from asthma in Ireland. The Asthma Society of Ireland, the national charity that provides services to thousands of people with asthma every year, provided a free asthma clinic in Tallaght on Saturday 15th June, from 1-4pm in the Fettercairn Community Centre, Tallaght. The clinic helped educate local asthma sufferers and parents of children with asthma in the area to take control of their asthma for the benefit of their health. The FREE Tallaght Asthma Clinic offered asthma sufferers and their parents / guardians the opportunity to have an individual consultation with a specialist nurse about their asthma management. All services were offered free of charge, so please come along on the day. People attending the Asthma Clinic had their asthma management reviewed, their inhaler technique checked and their lung function tested. Asthma specialist nurses were on hand to answer questions and give expert advice during a confidential, one to one consultation. Topics covered included asthma advice for children and adults, allergy avoidance and what to do during an asthma attack. “As part of a strategic plan to tackle asthma we are providing a national programme of free Asthma Clinics to provide the public with the most up to date information on asthma and asthma care. This is an excellent opportunity for people with asthma or parents of children with asthma to speak directly with an asthma nurse, to learn more about their own asthma management and to avail of a variety of services free of charge,” said Sharon Cosgrove, CEO of the Asthma Society. The Tallaght Asthma Clinic is part of the Asthma Society of Ireland’s Asthma Clinic Programme, which has been running since 2008. As part of the programme, the Asthma Society is holding Asthma Clinics throughout the country in 2013. For further information on upcoming Asthma Clinics, including dates and venues, visit http://www.asthma.ie or call 01 817 8886.