Calls to clean “toxic air” from England while GP visits for asthma attacks increase 45% | Asthma

The number of patients treated by general practitioners for asthma attacks increased by 45% in one year, which has aroused calls for urgent action to combat toxic levels of air pollution.

There were 45,458 presentations to family physicians in England between January and June this year, according to data from the Royal College of Practitioners Research and Surveillance Center. During the same period in 2024, there were 31,376 cases.

The figures occur a week after an overwhelming report of the Royal College of Physicians revealed that 99% of the British population now breathed “toxic air”. Atmospheric pollution killed 500 people per week and cost 27 billion pounds pounds per year in poor health, NHS care and productivity losses, according to research.

The new data from the RCGP Research and Surveillance Center show that the asthma rate of asthma attacks in 2025 has always been greater than the five -year average.

The exacerbations of asthma – attacks that cause the waterproofing and sealing of the chest – were, alongside other environmental and lifestyle factors, closely linked to air pollution, because patients’ respiratory tract could be irritated by exposure to harmful materials, said the RCGP.

The college calls on ministers and mayors of large cities to extend existing clean air areas to combat the consequences on the health of air pollution.

In an interview with The Guardian, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, the president of the RCGP, said: “General practitioners have long known the alarm on the harmful effects of air pollution on patient health and these last figures on asthma exacerbations are extremely concern.

“Air pollution is a major public health crisis which is often overlooked, but we know that it can be responsible for a range of serious physical and mental conditions and often exacerbates existing conditions in patients.

“We were very encouraged by the efforts of mayors in major cities such as Birmingham and London to reduce exposure to air pollution through programs such as the Ulez initiative, which reports very positive results.

“But these latest statistics show that we have to go further, widening the emphasis on reducing air pollution in the least affected communities.”

The Ministry of Health and Social Coins said that its 10 -year health plan, which is expected to be published next Thursday, will pass the NHS from prevention treatment.

The fight against air pollution must be a key element of the plan, said Hawthorne. “If we do not take measures to remedy them, it is patients who will suffer the consequences – in particular those of the more economically disadvantaged areas having an access already limited to the health services.

“In addition to the devastating human cost, this will ultimately lead to a larger burden on an already overloaded NHS.”

Sarah Sleet, director general of Asthma + Lung Uk, said that “the enormous increase” of asthma attacks was “extremely disturbing”.

“Although there may be several factors at stake, we know that air pollution can be fatal for millions of people in the United Kingdom living with pulmonary conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” she said.

“It can trigger deadly attacks and exacerbate symptoms, let people fight for the breath. It finds the growth of children’s lungs, and being exposed to high levels of air pollution over a long period can also cause pulmonary conditions.

“However, the government has not shown no political will to combat toxic levels of air pollution, which through the United Kingdom is much higher than the recommended safety levels set by the World Health Organization.”

Professor Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Poediatrics and Child Health, said that he was “alarmed” by the increase in asthma attacks and urged ministers to “act quickly”.

About one in 10 children in the United Kingdom suffer from asthma. Previous studies show a sharp increase in visits to doctors by asthmatic children after a week of atmospheric pollution levels.

“These attacks are painful, serious and fatal, but they are also avoidable,” said Turner. “Exposure to high concentrations of air pollution increases the risk of both developing asthma and triggering attacks.”

Dr. Harry Appeley, a RCPCH clinical scholarship holder, said that the impact of the toxic air on children’s health was “particularly deep” because their lungs were smaller and that they were breathing faster than adults, so inhaled a larger volume of air in a shorter period.

“In the hospital, I see more and more children and families living in or near the environments that harm their health … politicians and decision -makers must act.

A government spokesperson said: “Air pollution is a serious public health problem and we are committed to solving this problem across the country.

“We have already provided 575 million pounds sterling to support local authorities to improve air quality and develop a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.”