The true cost of occupational asthma in Great Britain

In 2000 the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) published a long-term (10-year) occupational health strategy for Great Britain. The strategy sets an ambitious target for occupational asthma (OA) of a reduction of 30% in newly incident cases by 2010. The strategy contains several components, including improved education and more research. To raise awareness among employers, workers, and policy-makers as to the potential gains to be realised from adopting measures to reduce the incidence of OA, the HSE commissioned the present study to develop detailed estimates of the cost of OA in Great Britain. The study considers solely OA, and does not cover work-aggravated asthma.