This World Asthma Day 2026 as GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma) draws attention to the need for access to anti-inflammatory inhaled treatments, experts highlight a broader gap in asthma care in India – one that extends beyond availability. Initiatives such as Cipla’s Berok Zindagi and Tuffies have been championing awareness efforts, to encourage timely and appropriate care-seeking behaviours. While effective and often affordable treatments exist, their uptake is limited due to a combination of delayed diagnosis, access disparities, as well as persistent misconceptions around inhalers. Also, studies show that non-adherence to prescribed inhalers is as high as 75%.
This reflects a disconnect in India’s asthma care ecosystem, where treatments are available but underutilised. It underscores the need to strengthen awareness efforts that debunk myths around inhaler use, advocate for improved medication adherence, and support consistent use of prescribed anti-inflammatory inhaled therapies to manage asthma as a chronic condition, not just its symptoms.
Poorly controlled asthma can significantly impact quality of life, leading to missed school and work, reduced productivity, and frequent need for emergency care. In severe cases, it can result in hospitalisation and even life-threatening outcomes. While the type and dose of asthma medication vary by age, symptoms, and severity; long-term control to reduce swelling of the airway and prevent asthma attacks is often achieved with daily controller medications – most commonly, inhaled corticosteroids. However, with most patients in India relying more on symptom-based relief, the underlying disease remains insufficiently controlled. Addressing this gap necessitates a shift in asthma treatment toward simultaneous symptom relief and anti inflammatory control using a single inhaler. This has also been recommended by the GINA guidelines as it helps simplify care, reduce exacerbations and supports better adherence.
Initiatives such as Cipla’s Berok Zindagi and Tuffies have been championing awareness efforts, to encourage timely and appropriate care-seeking behaviours. Additionally, the Breathefree initiative, including the recently launched Breathefree Lung Wellness Centers in Delhi and Mumbai, provides patients with access to high-quality diagnostics and structured support to help them better manage their asthma.
Highlighting the need to move beyond symptom-based care, Dr. M. Archit Krishna, Pulmonologist, said: “Asthma is a common chronic lung disease caused by inflammation in the airways, and is typically identified by symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing that can vary over time and in severity. Managing these symptoms and the underlying inflammation often involves inhalation therapy, which delivers medication directly to the airways, allowing targeted action in the lungs while minimizing effects on the rest of the body. Treatment generally includes relievers for quick symptom relief and controller medications for long-term management. However, adherence to daily treatment is often low and many patients rely only on quick-relief medications, leaving underlying inflammation unchecked which increases the risk of flare-ups. To address this, Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidance recommends combination inhalers that treat both symptoms and underlying inflammation. This approach simplifies treatment, allows flexibility with the same inhaler, and supports better asthma control beyond just symptom relief.”