On 6th May, CK Birla Hospitals ,CMRI, hosted an interactive session to mark World Asthma Day, centred around this year’s theme: Making inhaled treatment accessible for all.
The session opened with interesting insights from Dr. Beauty Biswas, Consultant – Pulmonology at CMRI Hospital Kolkata, followed by an awareness session by renowned Pulmonologist – Dr. Raja Dhar. Director & HOD of Pulmonology Department at CMRI Hospital. He spoke about how asthma continues to affect people across age groups, and how timely treatment, especially through inhalers, could make a real difference.
Dr. Raja Dhar, Director & HOD of Pulmonology Department at CMRI Hospital, said, “Asthma continues to be a major health issue in India, not just in terms of how common it is, buts also the number of deaths we see. A mix of factors like air pollution, burning of biomass, incense stocks, mosquito coils, and many others all contribute to airways narrowing. But what is equally worrying is the delay in treatment and the myths that people still believe about inhalers and steroid. These make disease control harder than it needs to be. We need to act faster. We need to diagnose earlier, treat earlier, and focus on education. With the right care, we can absolutely improve outcomes for asthma patients in India.”
One of the standout moments from the event was a short play titled Code Breath: In the Midst of the Storm. The show depicted how frightening and fast an asthma attack can be, especially when there’s hesitation or delay in using inhalers. The performance struck a chord with both medical staff and guests in the audience.
Dr. Arup Haldar ,Consultant – Pulmonology at CMRI Hospital Kolkata took the stage next to talk about air pollution and its growing impact on respiratory health. He pointed out how city living, combined with poor air quality, is pushing up asthma cases and complicating recovery for many patients. CMRI Hospital also hosted a panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Dhar, where several doctors spoke about common misconceptions around asthma, particularly the hesitation many people still have around using inhalers.
The panel featured Dr. A.G. Ghosal, Dr. Monotosh Khanra, Dr. Somenath Kundu, Dr. Arup Haldar, Dr. R. Shyam Krishnan, Dr. Beauty Biswas, Dr. Aditya Satpati and Dr. Amrita Bhattacharyya. The session also included a brief mention of SwitchON Foundation, an environment conservation society. The event wrapped up with a vote of thanks and an informal conversation among attendees, many of whom said they hoped to see more such efforts in the months ahead.