Sarah Woolnough
CEO, Asthma + Lung UK
The scale is dramatic: the health impacts of air pollution, such as breathlessness, can be devastating to people’s everyday lives.
Air pollution’s deadly toll on the nation’s health is illustrated in Professor Chris Whitty’s recent report, showing it contributes to up to 43,000 premature deaths in the UK a year.
Air pollution can cause life-threatening conditions
Toxic air causes new lung conditions and can also worsen the symptoms of those who already live with them. It can inflame the airways, causing coughing and the terrifying feeling of breathlessness as well as life-threatening flare-ups of conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In the most extreme circumstances, such as the case of Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah, exposure to high levels of dirty air can cause early death for people with lung conditions.
As one concerned London parent put it to me recently: “Dirty air is really affecting our family’s health — in particular, my daughter, whose asthma has been made worse by air pollution. There are days when the high levels of toxic air near her school mean she can’t do sports or play with her friends. It’s hard to explain to a child that the reason she can’t play outside is something as intrinsic to life as the air you breathe.”
This is unacceptable. That’s why we at Asthma + Lung UK are calling for urgent and bold government action to clean up the air and tackle this public health emergency head-on.
It’s hard to explain to a child that the reason
she can’t play outside is something as
intrinsic to life as the air you breathe.
Government investment can promote clean air
Tackling a problem as fundamental as the air we breathe requires the kind of bold government action that, so far, has been lacking. Transport is key in the fight for clean air, and our new plan sets out the steps that must be taken to ensure we win that fight.
The Government must help the poorest communities and those living with health conditions — whose lives are often most blighted by dirty air — to switch to cleaner means of transport. This is about helping the most vulnerable in society to switch to cleaner modes of transport, including less-polluting cars and active travel options like walking and cycling.
More government investment will help give people the financial incentives to make that switch. With more awareness, government action and the right targeted investment, we can apply the emergency brake on air pollution and save countless lives.
You can read our latest report here
