The European Respiratory Society, or ERS, is a non-profit organization with offices in Lausanne, Brussels and Sheffield. It was founded in 1990 in the field of respiratory medicine. The organization was formed with the merger of the Societas Europaea Physiologiae Clinicae Respoiratoriae (founded in 1966) and the European Society of Pneumology (founded 1981). The organization's membership is made up of medical professionals and scientists working in the area of respiratory medicine. ERS founded the European Lung Foundation (ELF) in 2000. The foundation aims to bring together patients and the public with respiratory professionals to positively influence lung health.

Activities

The ERS publishes academic journals and books as well as hosting events aimed at educating health professionals, including a large annual congress. The organization's stated goal is to "promote lung health in order to alleviate suffering from disease and drive standards for respiratory medicine globally".

Publications

The ERS publishes a range of journals, books and one-off projects. In addition to these publications, the ERS previously published two editions the European Lung White Book - a survey of the impact of respiratory disease across Europe, and has published the one-off booklets Air Quality and Health and the European Respiratory Roadmap as well as the European COPD Audit Report and reports on global respiratory health, published on behalf of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies.