ASTHMATICS packed their inhalers yesterday and tried to avoid areas where congested traffic pumped more fumes into the air.
Asthma Society secretary Tsang Ng Lai-fong said different factors sparked potentially fatal coughing fits in each sufferer.
Some of the 700 members find themselves gasping for breath when the weather turns cold, and others are wracked with coughs when pollution levels rise.
But a special class for children will teach them how to control their reaction to pollution, low temperatures or weather changes.
'Most of our work is to teach patients how to control asthma,' Mrs Tsang said.
'We have many courses and asthmatics can come and learn how to protect themselves.' Dr Lee So-lun of Queen Mary Hospital's Allergy Clinic said the worsening pollution level was bound to spark some asthma attacks.