On World Environment Day (Wednesday, 5th June), a new video from GSK highlights the effects that climate change can have on the public’s respiratory health and the difference small changes, such as shifting to low-carbon inhalers, where appropriate can make against climate change.
The average person breathes in 25,000 times a day1 and this animation shows the journey of harmful pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide, pollen and dust particles, into our lungs.
When breathed in, these types of pollutants can be carried deep into the lungs where they can cause inflammation and restrict uptake of oxygen into the blood2. Latest figures show that there are currently 40,000 pollution-related deaths a year in the UK3 and that a smaller lung volume in children was associated with higher annual air pollutant exposure4.
Climate change can make the effects of these kinds of pollutants worse, for example because of adverse weather conditions including longer pollen seasons, more intense heatwaves and particles in the air caused by droughts, dust and sandstorms5.
While this problem causes concerns for all, these adverse conditions can affect our lungs and trigger symptoms6,7 for more than 12 million Brits affected by lung conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)8 and young children – 86% of which across the UK are growing up breathing hazardous levels of toxic air9.
GSK is using this new video to raise awareness of certain small changes that can be made to help people reduce their contribution towards climate change.
Switching aerosol deodorants to roll-ons and disposing of certain household objects correctly can all make a real difference. Even the inhalers we use to treat lung conditions can make a positive difference to the environment because some do not contain greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change10.
For more information on inhalers people can visit lowcarboninhalers.co.uk or ask their doctor, nurse or pharmacist next time they see them about their asthma or COPD. Patients should always discuss the best treatment options for them with an appropriate healthcare professional.
References:
1. British Lung Foundation, 2019. How your lungs work [online]. Available from: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/how-your-lungs-work/about-the-lungs [Accessed 15th May 2019].
2. UK Air Information Resource, 2019. Effects of air pollution [online]. Department for Environmental Food & Rural Affairs. Available from: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/effects [Accessed 15th May 2019].
3. RCP (2016) Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. Available at: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution [Last accessed March 2019]
4. Mudway, I.S., Dundas, I., Wood, H.E., Marlin, N., Jamaludin, J.B and Bremner, S.A., 2018. Impact of London’s low emission zone on air quality and children’s respiratory health: a sequential annual cross-sectional study. The Lancet Public Health [online], 4 (1), 28-40.
5. D’Amato, G., Cecchi, L., D’Amato, M and Annessi-Maesano, I., 2014. Climate change and respiratory diseases. European Respiratory Review [online], 23: 161-169.
6. Asthma UK, 2019. Weather [online]. Available from: https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/weather/?chromeless=true [Accessed 15th May 2019].
7. British Lung Foundation, 2019. Looking after your lungs in hot weather [online]. Available from: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/hot-weather?chromeless=true [Accessed 15th May 2019].
8. British Lung Foundation, 2019. Lung disease in the UK – big picture statistics [online]. Available from: https://statistics.blf.org.uk/lung-disease-uk-big-picture#numbers-living-uk [Accessed 15th April 2019].
9. Edwards, H and Wellesley, L., 2019. Healthy air for every child: a call for national action [online]. London: Unicef.
10. Hillman et al. 2013. Inhaled drugs and global warming: time to shift to dry powder inhalers. BMJ 2013;346:f3359 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f3359 (Published 28 May 2013).