The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that each year between 1,500 and 3,000 people in Great Britain develop occupational asthma. The number rises to 7,000 cases a year if asthma made worse by work is taken into account. The cost to society is estimated to be up to £1.1 billion over 10 years.
The HSE has a website containing advice on how to reduce occupational asthma. This is aimed at employers and is part of the HSE’s campaign to reduce significantly the number of occupational asthma sufferers by the end of the decade.


