http://www.thisislond...that-treats-asthma.do explains what they are and what they are for. Whether they work or not I don't know. I have been in a salt mine, and didn't notice any difference in my breathing when I came out, but as I don't suffer from asthma or anything similar that's no real guide
There are salt caves in the northwest of england. The towns with a salt mining past usually end with "wich" such as Northwich, Nantwich, Middlewich, The salt mines / caves local to these towns no longer produce rock salt but are used for archiving paper documents from various companies due to the low humidity (or valued items that suffer from high humidity). Some of this caves are absolutely vast.