Philips Joins COPD Foundation, Launches Breathe Boldly Campaign

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often find it difficult to breathe, sometimes feeling like they breathing through a straw.

To help raise awareness for this respiratory disease, Royal Philips announced it has joined the COPD Foundation and the family of the late Leonard Nimoy, who died in 2015, to launch the Breathe Boldly campaign. The announcement was made on World COPD Day on Nov. 16.

And to shed light on how someone with COPD feels when they can’t get enough air, Breathe Boldly challenges everyone to post a selfie or a short video of themselves on social media performing one of their favorite activities while breathing through a straw to show their support for those living with COPD.

Participants can share their photos and videos on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media using the hashtags #BreatheBoldly for #COPD. To contribute further to the campaign, you can tag friends and invite them to join the challenge.

Despite the high prevalence of this respiratory disease, many people still don’t know what COPD is, or realize that they might have to deal with the condition one day, directly or indirectly.

“COPD affects so many people but still does not have much visibility or understanding,” John Frank, general manager of Philips Sleep & Respiratory Care, said in a press release. “Many assume that only longtime smokers are at risk, but that’s not the case.

“We’re hopeful that Breathe Boldly will not only increase global awareness of the disease, but also help people better identify symptoms of COPD, and gain a better understanding of what it is like to live with this disease that impacts so many people worldwide,” he said.

Earlier this year, Nimoy’s daughter, Julie Nimoy, and son-in-law David Knight joined Philips to produce “Remembering Leonard – His Life, Legacy and Battle with COPD” (trailer available here).

“Last February [2015], my father died of COPD, a disease he likely had for the majority of his life but was not diagnosed with until much later when it had greatly progressed,” Julie Nimoy said. “Our work with Philips, the COPD Foundation and the Breathe Boldly movement is further continuing dad’s last mission, which was to raise awareness for this incurable disease.”

Whoopi Goldberg also joined Breathe Boldly. Here is a short clip starring Whoopi showing how to participate in the campaign: