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The number of men dying from lung diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis has fallen dramatically since the 1970s, a new report has found.
The drop in male death rates from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) followed a reduction in the number of men smoking, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report showed.
The death rate from COPD fell to 29 per 100,000 men in 2009, less than a third of the 1970 rate, according to the report.
The male death rate peaked at 95 deaths per 100,000 population in 1970.
AIHW spokesman Dr Adrian Webster said smoking was the main, although not the only, cause of COPD.
He said the death rate generally followed levels of tobacco consumption, which had been declining among men since the 1970s and 80s.
Hospitalisation rates for men with COPD aged 55 and over also dropped, by 20 per cent in the decade between 1998/1999 and 2009/2010, the report showed.
The female death rate associated with COPD has been consistently lower than men's, with fewer women than men smoking, although the gap is narrowing.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease causes mild or severe shortness of breath by limiting airflow in the lungs.
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