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Asthma is a lung condition which causes wheezing, chest tightness, coughing and shortness of breath, due to irritation of the airways. For people with more severe asthma, it is best to take medication every day to keep the irritation under control as best as possible. However, the recommended starting treatment for someone with mild asthma is known as the SMART (single maintenance and reliever therapy) strategy – an inhaler which combines a medicine to stop airways getting irritated and a medicine to soothe them. People with mild asthma are recommended to use this inhaler ‘as needed’, rather than simply taking it every day.

But how do you know when you need it?

Many people may have long periods without any symptoms at all, and then suddenly find their asthma gets bad, almost out of the blue. Our understanding of when medicine is needed can sometimes fall short of what is best to keep our symptoms managed, and to prevent unexpected asthma attacks.

The SMART Choices study is exploring:

• How do people with asthma decide when they need to start and stop using their inhaler?
• How can doctors and nurses help people with asthma to make the safest choices about using their inhalers?