Box 1.

: Details of 58 south Asian and white patients interviewed

• Age

• Mean 45 years (range 17-72)

• Sex

• 39 women, 19 men

• Ethnicity (allocated by researcher during interviews)

• 24 south Asian—9 Pakistani Muslims, 5 Punjabi Sikhs, 3 Gujarati Muslims, 1 Indian Muslim, 2 Punjabi Hindus, 1 Gujarati Hindu, 1 Sri Lankan Hindu, 1 Bangladeshi Hindu, 1 Keralan Hindu
• 34 white

• Medication (British Thoracic Society (BTS) step^13a)

• Step 1 (2 patients), steps 2-3 (38), step 4 (14), step 5 (4)