11% people in Delhi suffering from asthma: Nadda

Around 11 per cent of the people in Delhi are suffering from asthma, the government said on Tuesday, while attributing its causes to smoking and air pollution.

“As per a survey conducted by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi, which covered 5,900 adults belonging to urban, rural and slum population in Delhi, 11.69 per cent were found to suffering from Rhinitis and 11.03 per cent from asthma,” Union Health Minister JP Nadda informed the Rajya Sabha.

He said that the Centre supplements the efforts of the state governments and provisions for health system strengthening are made under the National Health Mission. 

“Besides, the familial predisposition for asthma and respiratory ailments, other reasons include smoke, indoor and outdoor air pollution,” Nadda said.

He said that while there is no separate programme for respiratory diseases, government has taken measures to control environmental pollution, tightening of vehicular and industrial norms, promotion of cleaner technologies, strengthening of network of air quality monitoring stations and promoting public awareness.

The reply comes at a time when government has been facing criticism over rising pollution levels in Delhi.

Replying to another question, he said that there have been delays in transfer of funds from consolidated fund of states to state health societies and consequently there were delays in transfer of funds to district health societies. He said that the national programme coordination committee has already started apprising the programme implementation plans received from states for 2015-16. As such there are no delays, he said. 

Earlier this year, the Indian Journal of Community Medicine reported that while the rate of bronchial asthma was low (up to 3.3 per cent ) in children surveyed in Lucknow, Ludhiana and Punjab, in Delhi it was 11.6 per cent. 

Youth and middle-aged Indians are prone to chest and lung infections. The most affected are patients above 40 years of age. 

A 2006 study conducted in a rural block of Haryana by the Department of Community Medicine of Pt B D Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, records that smoke from tobacco or fuels become major asthma irritants.