Royal College of Physicians also says poor air quality costs country more than £500m a week
Air pollution in the UK is costing more than £500m a week in ill health, NHS care and productivity losses, with 99% of the population breathing in “toxic air”, doctors have said.
Dirty air is killing more than 500 people a week, with health harm to almost every organ of the body caused by air pollution, even at low concentrations, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said.
With an impact on mortality and healthy life expectancy, the effects on individuals, society, the economy and the NHS were huge and the threat air pollution posed to public health was greater than previously understood, a landmark report by the college concluded.
The RCP report also highlighted studies providing new information about the significant health dangers of toxic air, including foetal development and risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, mental health conditions and dementia.
