Bengaluru: The Union government on Tuesday (February 10) said in parliament that the sales value of medicines targeting the respiratory system for the month of December 2025 alone amounted to Rs. 1,952.9 crores. It also cited data to show that the total sales value of respiratory medicines had increased from Rs. 17,199 crores in 2024 to Rs. 18,912 crores in 2025: an increase of Rs. 1,713 crores in just one year.On the same day, the Union government also claimed again – in at least two different written responses in Parliament – that there was no “conclusive data” to show a direct correlation of disease to air pollution. This is a statement that health researchers and doctors have refuted citing numerous studies, as The Wire has previously reported. Sales of respiratory medicines surgesOn February 10, Sushmita Dev, MP from West Bengal and a member of the Trinamool Congress asked in parliament whether the government had taken note of reports indicating a record surge in sales of respiratory medicines (crossing Rs. 1,950 crore in December 2025) with sustained year-on-year increases during high pollution months, and whether the government acknowledges that such “sharp increases” in the sales of anti-asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and allergy medications reflect a worsening air pollution-linked public health burden than just mere seasonal illnesses. In response, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, submitted in a written response that the sales value of medicines targeting the respiratory system for the month of December 2025 alone amounted to Rs. 1,952.9 crores. He cited data received from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, and based on market data available with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority through the Pharmarack database.He also cited data to show that the total sales value of respiratory medicines had increased from Rs. 17,199 crores in 2024 to Rs. 18,912 crores in 2025: an increase of Rs. 1,713 crores in just one year.Dev had also asked for the number of pollution-related respiratory illnesses and deaths reported annually over the last five years, state-wise, but apart from mentioning that the National Centre for Disease Control conducts sentinel surveillance of air pollution-related illnesses through a network across 30 states, the minister did not offer any additional data.Government claims no direct link between air pollution and disease – againIn the response to Dev’s query of whether the surge in COPD and allergy medications reflect a worsening air pollution-linked public health burden than just mere seasonal illnesses, the union government also claimed – once again – that there was no “conclusive data available to establish direct correlation of death/ disease exclusively due to air pollution”.“Air pollution is one of the aggravating factors for respiratory ailments and diseases, however, there are no conclusive data available to establish direct correlation of death/ disease exclusively due to air pollution. Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socioeconomic status, medical history, immunity and heredity etc of the individuals,” the minister’s reply read.The Minister also submitted the same written response – of there being “no conclusive data” to establish a direct correlation with disease and air pollution – to a query posed by Member of Parliament from Gujarat, Govindbhai Laljibhai Dholakia, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Dholakia has asked whether the government was aware that health experts and doctors based on their studies have stated that air pollution is now emerging as the biggest health problem in the country after the COVID-19 pandemic. Jadhav’s reply to Dholakia’s query said that a Technical Expert group has been constituted under the chairpersonship of Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services to provide specialised expert guidance and recommendations on specific technical issues pertaining to Chronic Respiratory Diseases (COPD and asthma).The Minister in this written reply also stated that the Indian government had taken four main steps to address the issue of air pollution in the country. One was the implementation of the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health with the objective to create awareness, capacity building, health sector preparedness and response and partnership related activities on climate-sensitive health issues in India from 2019. Under this, the NPCCHH has developed the Health Adaptation Plan for diseases due to air pollution, the minister’s reply said. Ironically, the same document specifies how air pollution is linked not just to diseases but also deaths in India; in fact, a whole chapter in the document is dedicated to this. The document also specifies that nearly 12.5% of deaths in India have been attributed to air pollution. “Thus, it is logical to assume that reduction in air pollution levels can help reduce the burden of diseases like acute and chronic respiratory diseases, heart diseases, strokes and other allergic problems,” the document says. It also notes that “Air Pollution is recognised as the greatest environmental risk to human health and is a main avoidable and preventable risk factor”.The written reply by Jadhav did not address Dholakia’s two other questions — whether there has been a significant increase in the number of patients suffering from lung diseases in the country over the last few years, and whether the government has received any proposal from health experts and doctors to form a “Task Force for Lung Health”.Non-communicable diseases cause 61% of deaths in IndiaIn a response to a question posed by MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan on whether the government was aware that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in the country, contributing to 60% of deaths and that they share four common risk factors (tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and lack of physical activities) and what steps taken by the government in this regard are, Jadhav said in a written reply that as per the Indian Council of Medical Research’s report titled “India: Health of the Nation’s States” published in 2017, the proportion of deaths due to NCDs is 61.8% of total deaths in India. Out of this 28.1% were due to cardiovascular diseases, 8.3% were due to cancer, 10.9% due to Chronic Respiratory Disease and 6.5% due to diabetes, urogenital, blood and endocrine diseases. The State Program Implementation Plans Approval for the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs (excluding Planning and M&E) for FY2025-26 is Rs. 1,516.23 crores, he added.The union government also said in response to another question that the proportion of incidence of NCDs including cancer, diabetes and heart disease has increased in India, from 30.5% in 1990 to 55.4% in 2016.Incidentally, the prevalence of NCDs is linked to air pollution too. A 2024 review of several studies found that NCDs attributable to air pollution included cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, coronary heart disease and lower respiratory infections. It also found that the burden of disease (losses to health) of NCDs attributable to air pollution was projected to decrease in a scenario which promotes reduced air pollution, carbon emissions and land use and sustainable socioeconomics.