Lung diseases in Canada have significant implications on individuals and the economy. Key risk factors include smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, previous radiation therapy, radon gas exposure, asbestos, and family history.
Public service announcements about lung diseases have also been played on radios, shown in movies and on television advertisements.
In June 2001, Canada became the first country to implement pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages. Health warnings were required to cover 50% of the front and 50% of the back of the package. A message was required to appear on the inside of each package, either on the slide or on an insert. Canada requires tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and benzene emission numbers displayed on the side of packages. This law was implimented in order to try to spread awareness to lung disease caused by smoking as well as to try to lessen the amount of people who smoke.
Individual
Some of the risk factors for lung diseases are: smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, previous radiation therapy, exposure to radon gases, exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens and family history of lung diseases. Lung diseases are also more prevalent in women than in men and are more common in people over the age of 50 years old.
Lung diseases may make it hard for a person to participate in physical activities and sports that require streinous movement.
For a person diagnosed with a lung disease everyday tasks can be challenging. Some types of lung diseases cause the tissue in the lungs to become inflamed and scarred, while others can increase the pressure in arteries that supply blood to the lungs both can make it difficult to breathe properly.
Employment
It's an employers responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. Poor indoor air quality can impact the health of employees and result in increased abscenses from work, lessened productivity and potential safety hazards.
In the workplace there are many things than can affect an employees’ lung health, such as:
Pressed-wood office furniture and carpet, which can be a source of formaldehyde.
Poor ventilation, which can exacerbate asthma and allergies.
Exposure to tobacco smoke, which is a proven health risk for everyone and can be a serious health threat to employees with asthma.
As employee's health may be at risk from poor indoor air quality at work. Poor indoor air quality can make allergies and asthma worse, can cause eye, nose and throat irritation,, or can result in fatigue, nausea or illness. The health effects of these symptoms can affect a persons well-being, and lead to poor work performance and productivity. In the long-term, these symptoms could also lead to sickness, missed work and loss of income.
Health Care System
Altogether respiratory illnesses are responsible for 10 % of the total economic burden of disease in Canada, the third largest share amongst all disease areas. With an aging population this is likely to rise significantly over the next decade.
Smoking is the most important risk factor for lung disease. It exacts a heavy economic toll, estimated at $4.3 billion in direct healthcare costs and $12.47 billion in productivity losses annually.
Air pollution which is the second most critical risk factor to lung disease, cost the Canadian economy $8 billion in 2008 and, without significant reductions in emissions, the accumulated cost will be over $250 billion by 2030.
In 2004‐2005, respiratory disease had the second highest costs for acute inpatient care at $1.65 billion. That represented 9.5% of the total acute care inpatient budget. The total cost for acute care treatment of respiratory patients is equivalent to that for cancer and digestive system disease patients combined.
Lung disorders are the leading cause of production losses from short‐term disability in Canada.
Family
Relationships within families can change as the result of lung diseases and other illnesses, and sometimes news of the diagnosis help bring family members closer together. Some patients became aware of how important they were to their family and friends after their diagnosis'.
Many people have said that when they first told family members about their lung disease they were met with expressions of shock, fear, or distress.
Other people, however, reported that friends had been marvellous, helping with shopping, offering lifts to the hospital, providing practical help and making normal conversation as usual.
Many people said that their friends felt uncomfortable and avoided them once they knew about their lung cancer diagnosis. Some of those with lung cancer found that others would cross the road to avoid a conversation because they did not know what to say. They thought that their friends were either embarrassed by the situation, or that they did not want to confront the idea of death. It was also suggested that other people might think that lung cancer patients were to blame because they had smoked.
Economy
Three major chronic lung diseases cost Canada's economy $12 billion in 2010, according to an analysis by The Conference Board of Canada. Overall, chronic lung disease accounts for more than 6% of annual health-care costs in Canada, and COPD is the leading cause of hospitalization. And if no further enhancements are made to strategies for dealing with respiratory diseases, the annual economic burden is projected to double by 2030.
Respiratory diseases exert a significant economic impact on the Canadian health care system. Presently, almost 6.5% of total health care costs were related to respiratory diseases (not including lung cancer). This accounts for nearly $5.70 billion in direct (visible) costs of health care, such as for hospitalization, physician visits, research and drugs, as well as an additional $6.72 billion for less visible (indirect) expenses associated with disability and mortality.
