The delivery of drugs by inhalation is an integral component of the treatment and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There are a variety of different drug and inhaler combinations, which increase the likelihood of finding an appropriate inhaler for each individual patient. However, this increases the complexity of inhaler choice for clinicians and may also reduce the physician’s or nurse’s experience with each inhaler, which could impact on a patient’s tuition in the correct use of the prescribed inhaler.

Current levels of asthma control, worldwide, fall short of Global Initiative for Asthma recommendations, the reasons for which include poor compliance with therapy, wrong type of inhaler, and incorrect inhaler technique. The choice of an inhalation device for a patient is therefore as important as the choice of drug for treatment. In COPD, the ability of a patient to operate a device correctly, as well as their willingness to adhere to long-term inhaled medication, may also impact treatment efficacy and subsequent disease control. Physician and patient preferences for devices also influence their selection and use in clinical practice.

We invite authors to contribute original research and review articles that highlight the important role of inhalers in the treatment of both COPD and asthma including future developments and the interface with technology.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Overview of inhalation devices used in asthma and/or COPD
• Device choices: meeting patients’ needs
• Compliance and adherence to inhaled therapy
• Considerations for prescribing inhaled therapy
• Achieving optimal delivery
• Interface between inhalers and technology
• Asthma phenotypes and ACOS
• Future devices