Asthma + Lung UK (formally Asthma and Lung UK) is a British charity based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. It focuses on respiratory health, in particular

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syst ...

. The organisation was formed in January 2020 as Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation Partnership as a result of a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

between Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation. On 24 February 2022, the charity announced that the organisation had been renamed to Asthma and Lung UK.

History

The Asthma Research Council was founded in 1927. The first donation was used to pay for special asthma clinics at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

and

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

. In 1989, the Council became the National Asthma Campaign, and in 2004, it changed its name to Asthma UK. The British Lung Foundation was established by Professor Sir Malcolm Green and a group of British lung specialists in 1984. In December 2019, Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation announced that they had agreed to merge, to form Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation Partnership. It was expected that the merged charity would save around £2 million a year in running costs compared to operating independently. Kay Boycott was appointed as the first

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the partnership, having been the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

chief executive of Asthma UK at the time of the merger. The British Lung Foundation's records with the

Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

and

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...

were renamed and remain in use, while Asthma UK's records were left dormant. On 24 February 2022, the charity announced that the organisation had been renamed to Asthma and Lung UK, styled as Asthma + Lung UK. Asthma + Lung UK appointed Sarah Sleet as its new chief executive officer in January 2024. She replaced Sarah Woolnough, who had been in post for the previous three years.

Research

Asthma + Lung UK – and its previous incarnations – is known for the research it has been carrying out into asthma and lung disease for the past decades. It has informed a number of parliamentary debates on the issue. Since 2012, Asthma UK has conducted an annual survey of people with

, looking into their experience of living with the condition and the

care Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (England) West Midlands, Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency team, a team of doctors & ...

they receive. The survey has been taken over and continued by Asthma + Lung UK since the merger with the British Lung Foundation. In 2014, Asthma UK founded the Centre for Applied Research in asthma at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. The Centre has been a regular participant in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

's Cross-Party Group on Lung Health since its inception in 2021. In 2018 the British Lung Foundation helped found the Taskforce for Lung Health, which brought together representatives from over 40 organisations in the sector to make recommendations on how to improve treatment for

in the UK. In 2020, the taskforce revealed that lung patients' symptoms had improved during lockdown as a result of a drop in air pollution. However in 2021, it warned that one fifth of lung disease patients had to wait more than a year for a prognosis, and risked dying before they were even diagnosed. In 2023, Asthma + Lung UK published research which suggested up to 750,000 people in England were being misdiagnosed with asthma, due to a lack of simple tests for common lung conditions. The research claimed these misdiagnoses cost the government an estimated £132 million each year. Research published by the charity in 2024 showed that while deaths from asthma attacks were up by a quarter since 2010, two thirds of asthma deaths were preventable.

Funding

From 2021 to 2022, Asthma + Lung UK raised £13.9 million. Of this amount, £5.1m came from legacies (37%), £4.3m from donations (31%), £1.4m from fundraising (10%), £1.3m from grants (9%), £0.5m from gifts in kind (4%), and £0.4m from its investment portfolio (3%).

References

{{Reflist Charities based in London Organizations established in 2020 Medical and health organisations based in London Asthma organizations