Air Pollution Is the 'New Tobacco,' Warns WHO

The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said air pollution is the 'new tobacco' that is killing 7 million people a year and harming billions more. 'The world has turned the corner on tobacco. Now it must do the same for the 'new tobacco' -- the toxic air that billions breathe every day,' said Tedros. 'No one, rich or poor, can escape air pollution. It is a silent public health emergency.' The Guardian reports: 'Despite this epidemic of needless, preventable deaths and disability, a smog of complacency pervades the planet,' Tedros said, in an article for the Guardian. 'This is a defining moment and we must scale up action to urgently respond to this challenge.' The WHO is hosting its first global conference on air pollution and health in Geneva next week, including a high-level action day at which nations and cities are expected to make new commitments to cut air pollution.

Tedros said: 'A clean and healthy environment is the single most important precondition for ensuring good health. By cleaning up the air we breathe, we can prevent or at least reduce some of the greatest health risks.' The WHO is working with health professionals not only to help their patients, but also to give them the skills and evidence to advocate for health in policy decisions such as moving away from fossil-fuel-powered energy and transport. 'No person, group, city, country or region can solve the problem alone,' he said. 'We need strong commitments and actions from everyone.'

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