General practitioners are on the front lines when it comes to ensuring the early diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common, serious, and costly condition. Identifying at-risk individuals can be broad and lead to the administration of a lung function test using a mini electronic spirometer, in the office of a physician trained in its use, for anyone over 40 years of age who has smoked more than 10 pack-years. Another approach is to use a standardized questionnaire that can be self-administered, and to perform a lung function test on individuals with a high probability of bronchial obstruction. This option is particularly valuable when medical resources are limited. It has been demonstrated that implementing an early detection strategy for COPD leads to an increase in the number of diagnoses made and improved management. Combined with smoking cessation support, the detection of obstructive lung disease can increase the number of successful smoking cessation attempts. (R.A.)