The European Respiratory Society

Who we are

ERS is an international membership organisation that brings together physicians, healthcare professionals, scientists and other experts working in respiratory medicine. We are one of the leading medical organisations in the respiratory field, with a growing membership representing over 160 countries. Our mission is to promote lung health in order to alleviate suffering from disease and drive standards for respiratory medicine globally.

Science, education and advocacy are at the core of everything we do; we promote scientific research, provide access to high-quality educational resources and play a key role in raising awareness of lung disease to politicians. We work closely with the European Lung Foundation to extend that reach to the public and patients.

One in eight people in Europe die due to lung diseases – this means one person every minute. It includes well-known diseases like asthma and lung cancer and other less known like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is now the third most common cause of death.