More than a million people are now living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to figures published today.
Public Health England launched a campaign to highlight the lack of knowledge of the problem, which, it says, is responsible for about 25,000 deaths a year in England.
Smoking causes 86% of the deaths, it says.
Its new campaign is being led by Olympic sprinter Iwan Thomas, whose mother has recently been diagnosed with the condition. It hopes that publicity will help encourage smokers to use the New Year to give up the habit.
Mr Thomas has been taking part in an experiment aimed to show the difficulties of living with advanced COPD.
Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: "COPD is a serious lung disease and is not particularly well known. Yet it contributes to the deaths of almost 25,000 people a year.
"COPD can also be a severely debilitating disease, dramatically affecting people’s breathing and leading to years of suffering. The single best thing a smoker can do to reduce their chances of developing this devastating disease and prolong their life, is to stop smoking."
Dr Nicholas Hopkinson, reader in respiratory medicine at Imperial College, London, and medical adviser to the British Lung Foundation, said: "My advice to anyone who smokes is don’t ignore a ‘smoker’s cough’ or getting out of breath. Take it as a sign to quit before any damage to your lungs gets worse.
"If diagnosed early; changes in lifestyle, treatments such as pulmonary rehabilitation, and prescription medications can slow down the progression of the disease and help patients cope with symptoms like breathlessness and fatigue.
"However, there is no cure for COPD, so the single most important thing you can do to reduce the chances of getting the condition is to stop smoking completely."
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