The number of asthma sufferers in Malta is on the increase, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Joe Cassar, said, blaming mainly the prevailing lifestyle and air quality.

According to the Malta Asthmatic Society, some 10 per cent of Maltese people suffer from the condition and society president Mariella Blackman Manchè said this number was on the rise.

Speaking during an event to mark World Asthma Day on Tuesday, Dr Cassar said pollution, food, allergies, infections and even emotions could contribute towards the onset of asthma, a chronic condition in the respiratory system.

Dr Cassar said over 300 million people around the world are thought to suffer from asthma.

World Asthma Day was marked locally with the launch of a booklet in Maltese outlining breathing exercises in a bid to help alleviate the symptoms.

British biochemist Janet Brindley, an asthmatic with a son who also suffers from asthma, believes that the Russian breathing technique outlined in the publication is helpful in dealing with asthma, although she emphasised that this does not constitute treatment.

When Ms Brindley tried the technique with her son, and realised that he was doing well, she decided to pass on the information to others, her work culminating in a publication that outlines how changing the way a person breathes can help alleviate the symptoms of the disease.

Dr Cassar expressed support to the society's work to control wastage when it comes to inhalers, which are given to patients for free. The society is insisting that empty inhalers should be returned and replaced.

Children should be able to use inhalers at school and there should be more education among heads of school and teachers on how to deal with this condition. Dr Cassar said the government's initiative to ban smoking in public places has surely helped curb asthma attacks.