Somerset GP Dr Steve Holmes, former chairman of the General Practice Airways Group said: 'There has been talk about the benefit of screening those aged 25 and over and those at paediatric age.
'They were suggestions that were made in the development process, but there was not enough evidence to implement the lung checks in children.'
Lung checks for children will not go into the national recommendations, but will be piloted instead as a research project, said Dr Holmes.
He added that the draft framework was expected to be published by the end of November, followed by a three-month consultation period.
Previous research has already found that offering early diagnosis and treatment of COPD can help to reduce the decline in lung function caused by the disease (GP, 4 September).
