More than 700 pharmacies will be offering patients advice on how to exercise their lungs as part of a Wales-wide campaign to promote respiratory health.   

Pharmacies will give customers a respiratory health test and advice on how to treat persistent coughing, wheezing or breathlessness as part of the two-week Love Your Lungs campaign, which launches on Monday (November 12).

Wales had "historically high levels" of respiratory health problems "in large part due to its industrial past", said Russell Goodway, chief executive of Community Pharmacy Wales, which is running the campaign with Public Health Wales and the seven local health boards.

One in five people in Wales has some form of diagnosed lung condition	More on pharmacy in Wales NPA welcomes Wales flu scheme Welsh pharmacies launch diabetes and stroke drive 100 Welsh pharmacies set to provide flu jab on NHS
	"But it is worrying that so many people still have poor lung health," he added. One in five people in Wales has some form of diagnosed lung condition and it is estimated that about 186,000 people may be living with COPD, with 124,000 undiagnosed, according to the British Lung Foundation, which is supporting the campaign.

"Often people don't think about their lung health until it becomes a problem," said British Lung Foundation Wales head Chris Mulholland.

"The earlier any problems are identified, the better. I urge people who do have symptoms or concerns about their lung health to visit their local pharmacy to take the test."

The Love Your Lungs campaign follows a similar two-week initiative earlier in the year in which Welsh pharmacies offered patients free diabetes and stroke risk assessments in a campaign aimed at identifying those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes or having a stroke.

The latest campaign is one of the six contractual public health campaigns that run annually in community pharmacies in Wales.