HEALTH campaigners are calling for “urgent action” to fix the “shameful” lung health which affects a fifth of Scots.

Research shows that respiratory conditions kill more people in the UK than anywhere in Western Europe, and in Scotland alone, more than 7000 people die each year from poor lung health.

Smoking rates in Scotland remain higher than England, and Glasgow is home to the country’s most polluted street – Hope Street. The effect is that thousands of Scots live with asthma, COPD and lung disease.

Asthma + Lung UK has released its “Fighting for Breath” strategy, which outlines its plea to the government, as well as asking for research funding to be tripled from 2% to 6%.

Asthma + Lung UK wants to see lung conditions prioritised in healthcare to the same extent as other illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.

Joseph Carter, head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said: “The NHS is obviously under a huge amount of pressure, that’s a reality we have to accept.

“But unless we get a handle on respiratory conditions and start to actually look to try and prevent these hospital admissions, we’re going to keep on seeing pressure on A&E departments and on hospital services. We can’t go on like this.

“It’s all well and good investing in wonderful hospitals like the Queen Elizabeth, but actually, we need to keep people out of those hospitals by tackling issues like smoking, like air pollution, which makes lung health worse.

“We can’t afford to ignore this, we need to invest in services for the community, we need to try and prevent lung conditions from forming in the first place as much as we can.”

The campaigners also want to see bolder targets for air pollution, saying clean air is needed for healthy lungs.

It comes after FirstBus announced a £35 million investment to bring electric buses to Glasgow – the eco-friendly buses would bring 50 new vehicles into the city by spring 2024.

Duncan Cameron, managing director for First Bus Scotland, told the Glasgow Times: “Scotstoun will become the second of our depots in Glasgow to start its journey towards a zero-emission fleet.

“The depot will be future-proofed for further investment in zero-emissions vehicles because of the infrastructure work undertaken.

“This announcement will also see huge benefits for our customers as it allows First Bus to offer even greener and quieter bus travel to thousands of new customers across Greater Glasgow and Aberdeen.”