SINGAPORE : Doctors have discovered that the number of people who die from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is five times higher than previously estimated

In fact, the mortality rate in Singapore is almost double that in the US, Canada and Australia. Almost five percent of deaths in Singapore are due to COPD, according to NUS medical researchers. If those who die from chronic airway obstructions are included, COPD is the 6th leading cause of death in Singapore. "Although the trend is that mortality is falling.....the hospitalisation rate has not been falling, indicating that the severity of the disease may still be quite high," said NUS Medicine Faculty's Professor Tan Cheng Wan. 80 percent of people who suffer from COPD are heavy smokers. Although the Government's anti-smoking campaign had cut the proportion of smokers from 23% in 1977 to 15% in 1998, doctors say the chronic nature of the disease means symptoms may only surface some 20 years later. Among the symptoms are chronic coughs and breathlessness. To get people more aware about the disease, a month-long series of public forums and events have been planned in conjunction with World COPD Day on 19 November. - CAN

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