New guide to asthma safety at work
14 September 2004

Asthma UK has launched a package of advice aimed at making workplaces safer for people with asthma.

'Asthma at Work - Your Charter' sets out ten recommendations to reduce the impact of asthma in the workplace, and provides information on asthma triggers and symptoms, instructions on what to do if someone is having an attack, and guidelines for employers on making the work environment an asthma-friendly zone.

Each year in the UK, 750,000 employees who have asthma find that things at work trigger their symptoms. A further 3,000 people develop occupational asthma because of the substances they are exposed to while doing their jobs. In a recent poll on this website almost 60% of respondents thought that changes could be made to their workplace that could improve their asthma.

People with asthma report that cigarette smoke is an extremely common trigger for them at work, which could be prevented by banning smoking in the workplace. However, a wide variety of substances can set off asthma symptoms and affect people working in jobs as diverse as nursing (latex gloves), baking (flour, pictured), hairdressing (chemical dyes) and car repairs (spraypaint).

'40% of workers with asthma have told us that things at work make their asthma worse and this simply shouldn't be the case,' said Donna Covey, Chief Executive of Asthma UK.

'It is outrageous that almost a million people in the UK are in a working environment that makes them sick. Asthma UK is helping employers to address this issue by launching the charter, which outlines the simple policies and measures which can be taken to ensure employees are safe and healthy.'

Key recommendations in the new charter include:

• creating smoke-free workplaces
• protecting employees from triggers and from substances that might cause people to develop asthma
• increasing health monitoring where employees are exposed to substances that are known to increase the risk of developing asthma.

The charter was developed by Asthma UK in partnership with employers, trade unions and statutory bodies including the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). Donald Adey, HSE's Occupational Asthma Project Manager said, 'The workplace should be a safe environment for all employees. We would like to encourage more organisations to become charter partners like the HSE, to prevent employees from developing asthma or suffering needless asthma attacks.'

Occupational asthma can be treated effectively in its early stages, a key point made in the charter and emphasised by Adey: 'Unlike pre-existing asthma, occupational asthma can be cured if it is identified quickly enough. Yet many people fail to get treatment either because the occupational cause of their asthma is not identified in time or perhaps because they are not aware their condition is caused by work.’

Other organisations involved in developing the charter include the TUC, Centrica, Volvo Car UK, Northern Foods, the Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union and London Underground. The charter is launched today (14 September) at the TUC conference in Brighton.