According to several world-renowned pulmonary specialists who spoke at this year's annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) held in Berlin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be the western world's next new killer disease. By 2020, it could well be the third largest cause of death from illness worldwide. And unlike other diseases which seem to take their toll in the less well-off countries, the impact of COPD will be felt most profoundly in countries such as the US and Canada.