Hundreds of people had their lungs tested today as part of a health awareness day held in Bradford's Centenary Square.

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) awareness event was organised by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust.

The aim of the day-long event was to tell people if they are at risk of developing COPD, a deadly lung disease which has no cure and is mainly caused by smoking.

By midday, people were queuing to get into the marquee where nurses were offering advice on stopping smoking, giving lung function tests, distributing leaflets and providing information about COPD.

Richard Cook, 36, of Little Horton, was one of the people taking the lung test. Mr Cook has been smoking for 18 years and he said he wanted to stop smoking and had tried in the past.

He said: "A friend of mine had a collapsed lung and when I saw what happened to him, it made me think about my smoking. Coming along today may not actually stop me smoking, but it will give me more of an incentive to stop."

Ros Hirst, 52, of Wibsey, gave up smoking five years ago but said she wanted to get her lungs tested to see if there has been any permanent damage.

"I've smoked since I was a teenager, and I just want to check my lungs are not too damaged. Since I've given up I have felt much better. I think it's good that they have events like this which are helping people to stop."

Everyone who underwent a free lung test was given a copy of their results to take to their GP, was offered the opportunity to get expert advice from consultant respiratory physician Dr Dinesh Saralaya and told about the services they can access.

Dr Saralaya said: "We held a similar event in 2005, when we scanned about 300 patients, so we decided to do it again, especially now to coincide with the public smoking ban which comes into place on July 1."

He said 95 per cent of people who have COPD are smokers and warned that one in seven people over 45 suffer from COPD. He said that by 2020 it will be the third commonest cause of death in the world. He also said Bradford has high levels of COPD.

"The smoking ban will certainly reduce smoking, if nothing else it will curtail it," added Dr Saralaya.

Tracy Lightowler, respiratory nurse specialist at BRI, said: "It has been a positive day and lots of people are taking the test. We have sent a few people, who have been identified as possible risk of COPD, on to the doctors for more advice."

Miles Scott, chief executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: "COPD is a very serious disease that is affecting more and more people both here in Bradford and across the world. The COPD day will make more people aware of the disease and what causes it and this can only be a good thing."

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