Asthma deaths halved in 10 years.

The Asthma in Australia 2005 report shows that asthma deaths here have halved, except for within the Indigenous population, in rural areas and among the elderly and poor, who are still over-represented in statistics. Guy Marks, director of the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring, said the dramatic rise in the number of young people developing asthma during the 1980s and early 1990s had been arrested and possibly reversed. He said that smoking is still a major factor contributing to asthma and that 40% of children with asthma lived with smokers. 'The report shows that the inequalities that run through our society in general also run through asthma ... People with asthma living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas have worse disease outcomes and are more likely to smoke and are less likely to have written asthma action plans (Canberra Times, 13/8/05, p.13).