12 Week Efficacy of Tiotropium Versus Placebo in Patients With Mild COPD According to Swedish Guidelines (SPIRIMILD)

Following an initial screening at the screening visit(Visit 1), patients enter a 2 week run-in period. Patients are allowed to take salbutamol (Ventoline, Diskus, 0.2 mg) prn as rescue medication and have to record their daily use of it on the Patient's Diary. Patients who meet all inclusion and none of the exclusion criteria at the check at Visit 2 will be randomised thereafter into the randomised treatment period of the study during which they will receive either tiotropium(Spiriva) or placebo in blinded fashion. On Day 0 (Visit 2), the first administration of blinded study medication (tiotropium(Spiriva) or matching placebo) will be performed at the study site, after a pre-dose pulmonary function test (PFT) has been carried out. First administration of blinded study medication will be monitored by the investigator. Post dose PFTs will be performed at 30 min, 1 and 2 hours. On Days 1 to 83 except Day 14, the blinded study medication will be self-administered by the patients at home. The patients will inhale one capsule (tiotropium)(Spiriva) or matching placebo) using the HandiHaler device once daily in the morning. The morning dose of the blinded study medication should be taken at approximately the same time each morning between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. At visit 3 and 4 PFTs will be performed predose and post dose at 30 minutes, 1 and 2 hours Study Hypothesis: The rationale of the study is to show that treatment with tiotropium (Spiriva) 18 ?g inhalation capsule via HandiHaler once daily improves FEV1 when compared with placebo in patients with mild COPD according to Swedish guidelines, i.e., a post-bronchodilator FEV1 \< 60% of predicted normal and FEV1 \< 70% of FVC. Comparison(s): One group will be treated with inhalation powder capsules of tiotropium (Spiriva), 18 micrograms once daily. The other group will be treated with matching placebo. Randomisation is 1:1