Backing the call for a European Lung Health Plan

Europe has an opportunity to put lung health higher on the policy agenda

Lung Cancer Europe is a member of the European Lung Health Group, and we’re standing behind its call for a European Lung Health Plan, a coordinated strategy that would bring prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, research, long term care and the involvement of lived experience together under one European approach.

In May 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted its first Resolution on Lung Health, recognising the need for stronger global action on prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long term care. A European Lung Health Plan is an opportunity to turn that global commitment into coordinated action across Europe.

Why does Europe need a Lung Health Plan?

Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the European Union, responsible for one in eight deaths each year, yet lung health still has no single policy home.

Air quality, tobacco and nicotine control, healthcare access, research and health inequalities all influence lung health, but they are often addressed separately rather than through one coordinated strategy. For people living with respiratory conditions, including lung cancer, these issues are inseparable.

Prevention, early diagnosis, equitable access to treatment and healthy environments all contribute to better outcomes.

A new infographic explains why bringing these priorities together under a European Lung Health Plan could help create a more coordinated and effective approach.

What is the relevance for lung cancer?

This builds directly on Lung Cancer Europe’s own policy priorities.

Our campaigns have consistently called on the European Union to keep lung cancer high on the political agenda and to build on the WHO Resolution on Lung Health. A European Lung Health Plan would help turn those ambitions into practical action.

It also reflects the priorities set out in our Charter. Earlier diagnosis and screening, equitable access to care regardless of where someone lives, investment in research and meaningful involvement of lived experience are all central to the vision of a coordinated European approach to lung health.

Building on growing European momentum

The momentum was already clear at the European Health Forum Gastein in October 2025, where patients, clinicians and policymakers came together under the theme Breathing Together for Change.

Discussions highlighted JARED, the EU’s first Joint Action dedicated to chronic respiratory diseases, covering asthma, COPD, lung cancer and tuberculosis. The aim is to strengthen national action while helping pave the way for a future European Lung Health Strategy.

Lung cancer sitting alongside other major respiratory diseases reflects exactly the joined up thinking that a European Lung Health Plan could deliver.

Read the infographic

The European Lung Health Group has produced a new infographic explaining why Europe needs a European Lung Health Plan, what it should include and how it builds on the WHO Resolution on Lung Health.

Lung Cancer Europe supports this work and will continue working alongside the European Lung Health Group and fellow member organisations to help ensure lung cancer remains central to a coordinated European approach to prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, long term care and research.

Read the infographic and learn more about the case for a European Lung Health Plan.