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Around 800,000 asthma sufferers in England are being forced to go hungry to pay for their medication, a charity said.

Charity Asthma UK said more than a third of patients were facing the “impossible choice” between buying food or life-saving inhalers.

Around 2.3 million asthma sufferers pay for prescriptions in England. But 35% of 7,500 surveyed said they had to choose between food and medication, equating to around 805,000 patients.

Many are facing an “impossible” choice between essentials and life-saving medicine, said Samantha Walker, director of research and policy at the charity.

The survey of 9,000 people with asthma, including around 7,500 who paid for their prescription, also found more than one in five (21%) have cut back on paying bills to pay for medication.

This equates to an estimated 480,000 people in England, Asthma UK said.

“The stark reality is that hundreds of thousands of people with asthma are faced with an impossible choice – cut back on essentials like food and bills or cut back on the medication that could save their life,” Dr Walker said.

“People with asthma are struggling to pay for their prescriptions and around a million are cutting back on taking their medication because of the cost.

“This puts them at risk of being hospitalised or even dying from an asthma attack.”

Around 2.3 million people with asthma pay for their prescription in England, Asthma UK said.

The charity has launched a campaign – Stop Unfair Asthma Prescription Charges – in a bid to make medication free for those with the condition.

Prescription charges have been scrapped in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while those in England with long-term conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy are entitled to a medical exemption certificate to avoid the cost.

Charges for NHS prescriptions in England have shot up by 26% to £9 since 2010.

Asthma UK’s Stop Unfair Asthma Prescription Charges campaign aims to make medication free for sufferers, as it is for certain other long-term illnesses.