Research funded by Asthma UK has won an award at a gathering of more than 14,000 respiratory experts in Glasgow this week.

The study, by Dr Rekha Chaudhuri and Professor Neil Thomson, into the effects of smoking on asthma treatments, won the ’best paper of the year’ prize in its section at the annual European Respiratory Society (ERS) meeting.

The paper, which was originally published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in December 2003, showed that people with asthma who smoke are likely to be jeopardising the effectiveness of their medication.

The research team, from Glasgow University, carried out a randomised controlled trial examining the effect of cigarette smoking on taking a short course of oral steroids, which are often used to bring asthma attacks under control. After two weeks of taking the medication, those who didn’t smoke saw a significant improvement to their asthma, while those who did smoke found the drugs to be far less effective.

’We are delighted that the importance of this research has been internationally recognised at such a prestigious respiratory meeting,’ said Dr Matt Hallsworth, Asthma UK’s Research Development Manager. ’We already know many of the direct health effects of smoking, but this study shows that it can also have a big impact on the effectiveness of asthma treatments.’

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For advice and information on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline (08457 01 02 03) or email an asthma nurse specialist.