Air pollution is the new tobacco says the head of the WHO

The President of the World Health Organization said that air pollution is the "new tobacco" and that breathing polluted air kills 7 million people every year and harms billions of people.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "The world has turned its back on tobacco. Now, he must do the same for the "new tobacco" – the toxic air that billions of people breathe every day. No one, rich or poor, can escape air pollution. This is a silent public health emergency. He said that 90% of the world's population suffers from toxic air and that it affects children more severely than adults.

The pollution of the air. Image Credit: Ssuaphotos / Shutterstock

In his statement to the press, Tedros said, "Despite this epidemic of preventable and avoidable death and disability, a fog of appeasement is invading the planet. This is a decisive moment and we must intensify our actions to respond urgently to this challenge. He was talking about the first global conference on air pollution and health that WHO is organizing in Geneva next week. The conference would include a "high-level day of action" during which countries around the world would engage in different ways to reduce air pollution.

Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health and the Environment of WHO, said in her statement that children and infants are at great risk because nearly 300 million children live in areas where toxins in the air force them to breathe toxic fumes. The air pollution in these areas is six times higher than the recommended safe levels, she said. She said: "Air pollution affects us all, but children are the most vulnerable of all. We must ask ourselves what we are doing to our children and the answer that scares me is extremely clear: we are polluting their future, which is very worrying for all of us. She explained that children exposed to these pollutants ran the risk of respiratory conditions such as asthma and the risk of developing cancers and impaired intelligence.

According to Tedros, "A clean and healthy environment is the most important prerequisite for ensuring good health. By purifying the air we breathe, we can prevent or at least reduce some of the most serious health risks. "No person, group, city, country or region can solve the problem alone," he said. "We need strong commitments and actions from all."

The new figures for air pollution, which kills 7 million people a year, were considered modest. Experts said nearly 9 million people die each year from particle pollution. Daniel Krewski of the University of Ottawa was one of the members of the team that wrote the report. "This suggests that outdoor air pollution is a health risk factor even more important than previously thought" by air pollutants.

According to Neira, politicians who fail to take action could be criticized in the future. She said: "Politicians can not say in 10 years when citizens will start bringing them to justice for the wrong they suffered, they did not know it. We all know that pollution causes significant damage and we all know that we can avoid it. We must now react collectively and in a very dramatic and urgent way. "