Air pollution is responsible for 51,000 premature deaths annually

While the importance of passive smoking on health has been recently highlighted, its detrimental effects are relatively small compared with air pollution, according to Dr Derek Chase, General Practitioner, King's College Health Centre, London.

In a letter to The Times, Chase writes:

"The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee published a report this week detailing that air pollution is responsible for 51,000 premature deaths annually, mainly from cardiovascular disease, poor lung development in children, and about 1 in 10 hospital admissions for asthma, many of whom are children.

Its long-term toxic effects account for more damage than passive smoking and all road accidents put together. Meanwhile, there is inaction. The Government has asked for an extension to meet the EU air quality targets (which have been illegally exceeded for the past five years in London) and the Mayor of London has deferred phase 3 of the low emission zone.

The Royal College of Physicians report is to be welcomed. However, now we should focus on the much more lethal air we breathe."

The challenge was set recently as the WHO unveiled its new Air Quality Guidelines, which featured dramatically lower standards for levels of pollutants.

The WHO believes that reducing levels of a type of pollutant known as PM10 could reduce deaths in polluted cities by as much as 15 per cent every year. The Air Quality Guidelines also substantially lower the recommended limits of ozone and sulphur dioxide.

The guidelines address all regions of the world for the first time, providing uniform targets for air quality that are far tougher than the national standards currently applied in many countries. Air pollution is estimated to cause around two million premature deaths worldwide per year, with over half of this burden borne by developing countries.

Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health and the Environment, says "action to reduce the direct impact of air pollution will help to reduce the global burden of disease, and cut emissions of gases which contribute to climate change."

In the meantime, Myidealvilla supports these guidelines and helps to improve the air quality within our villas. With our indoor air filtration systems you can enjoy a cleaner, more refreshing atmosphere, with fresh air to help you and your family breathe easier.

These air filtration systems use a groundbreaking ozone-free process called Clean Ion Generation to produce negative ions. Ions are charged atoms or molecules, and negative ions attach themselves to airborne particles to remove them from the air.

Clean Ion Generation is unique in that it provides the user with the benefits of negative ions, without creating ozone, which some countries class as a toxic gas.

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