Tackling air pollution must be a top priority, says British Heart Foundation

British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation is urging the government to introduce a new Clean Air Act that adopts World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines, as a survey commissioned by the charity shows two thirds (65%) of respondents are concerned about the effect of air pollution on their health.

The charity’s survey shows that almost a quarter of its supporters (24%) believe outdoor air pollution has affected their health in the last few years and three in five (60%) respondents living with a heart and circulatory condition said they have had to change their way of life to avoid outdoor air pollution.

Twenty-five years on since the Clean Air Act was last amended, air pollution is now the largest environmental risk factor linked to deaths in England.

Globally, coronary heart disease and stroke account for approximately six in ten (58%) deaths related to outdoor air pollution.

The heart research charity says legislation no longer reflects this evidence, which shows that the particulate matter found in air pollution is the major cause of these cardiovascular deaths. WHO estimates that in 2016, outdoor air pollution was responsible for 17% of all adult deaths from ischaemic heart disease and 14% from stroke. The WHO has stringent air quality guidelines for particulate matter, which the government have recognised but not adopted into current legislation.

The government has launched its draft Clean Air Strategy, which the charity say is a welcome and reassuring step but does not go far enough to effectively protect people from the ill effects of toxic air.

The strategy commits to halving the number of UK population living in areas where particulate matter levels exceed these limits by 2025, but ultimately the charity would like to see this action go further to reduce the health impacts of our toxic air as quickly as possible.  Lives are being impacted now, and all government departments and relevant health and third sector bodies need to be uniting around the prospect of bold legislation.

Simon Gillespie, British Heart Foundation chief executive, said: “Dangerous levels of air pollution in the UK are damaging the health of the public in the UK - both healthy individuals and particularly those with heart and circulatory disease.

"Recognising World Health Organisation air quality guidelines in the draft strategy is a positive step but we’d like to see the government go further by adopting the WHO air quality guidelines into national legislation. These more stringent limits would better protect the nation’s heart and circulatory health.

“Air pollution is silently harming people every day. There is no time to lose. The need for tighter limits could not be more pressing to prevent the detrimental impact on the public’s health in the years to come. As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Clean Air Act, we urge Government to act now to ensure that we see real progress in the next 25 years.”