The risk of polluted air, such as smoking, harms health

The danger of polluted air on the human body, such as the damage caused by tobacco, says the American Journal of Medicine, JAMA.
Recent studies have revealed that the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung diseases caused by air pollution is progressing at a rate similar to that of smoking.
Scientists from the University of Washington at Setley claim that the growth and development of chronic lung diseases are largely caused by polluted air.
Experts also link the development of COPD, which affects not only the lungs but also the heart, brain, kidneys, muscles and blood vessels. The risk to human health is five times greater than the risk of myocardial infarction. "The effect of polluted air on the rapid development of COPD is at least as effective as that of cigarette smoking, which we believed to be the leading cause of disease progression," he said. said the researchers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80% of city dwellers inhale air containing carcinogens above the authorized limit. To find out how polluted air affects the work of the lungs, researchers have been monitoring the lives of 7,000 people in six cities in the United States for 18 years. The results of this monitoring showed that the growth of COPD and other respiratory diseases was associated with an increase of ozone in the atmosphere. According to scientists, the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere increases under the influence of natural processes associated with global warming.
"The high concentration of ozone, three parts per billion, increases the risk of COPD as if everyone in the population was smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years," say the researchers.
But scientists still need to determine how ozone gas affects the development of lung disease. The search continues.