The AIRE survey asked 400 sufferers in the UK about the way they felt and how well they followed their medication regimes.

The results reveal that most are far from the level of asthma control which should be possible with modern drugs.

Almost four out of five - 79% - had suffered attacks of wheezing, coughing or breathlessness in the past four weeks.

One in four had been woken at night by their symptoms at least once a week, in the past four weeks.

More than one in three children had been forced to take time off school due to their asthma in the last year, and nearly one in six adults had taken time off work.

Many patients don't take their medication properly

More than half of all adults felt their asthma was no better, or even worse than it was 10 years ago, when fewer asthma treatments were available.

Professor Peter Barnes, a consultant in respiratory medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital, said: "This clearly shows that there is still room for improvement in patients' asthma."

Death rates dropping

It is estimated that 3.4 million people in the UK have asthma - 1,509 people died as a direct result of the disease in 1996, although the death rate is declining by about six per cent a year.

The Office of Health Economics calculated that asthma cost the NHS £730m in 1995-6, while the Office of National Statistics said that, in the same year, lost productivity due to asthma-related days off stood at £1,139 million.

A spokesman for the National Asthma Campaign said: "The study illustrates a lack of patient understanding about their asthma. With good asthma management most people with asthma can lead full and active lives."

Other results from the survey included:

• 35% of patients did not know inflammation caused asthma
• 41% believed that there are no truly effective treatments for asthma
• 60% said they did not follow their doctor's instructions all of the time