Luton residents ‘indirectly smoke’ 128 cigarettes a year through air pollution
People in Luton are indirectly smoking the equivalent of 128 cigarettes a year by breathing in the air around the town, a new study has found.
A new analysis by HouseFresh has revealed that Luton is the 13th worst place in the UK for air pollution, with residents breathing in fine particles (PM2.5) at levels equivalent to smoking 128 cigarettes per year.
The study used 2024 PM2.5 data from IQAir and used Berkeley Earth’s rule of thumb that 22 μg/m³ equals one cigarette. Across the UK, Liverpool topped the list (171 cigarettes), followed by Worthing (166) and Northampton (158).
Across the world, Delhi ranked worst, with air pollution equal to smoking 1,797 cigarettes annually, while Nassau in the Bahamas had the cleanest air, at just 38 cigarettes.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) explained that outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem that affects “everyone in low-, middle-, and high-income countries”.
The WHO estimated that in 2019, “some 68 per cent of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke, 14 per cent were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 14 per cent were due to acute lower respiratory infections, and 4 per cent of deaths were due to lung cancers”.
Exposure to air pollution can lead to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and even affect mental health and cognitive function, with the immediate symptoms being coughing and wheezing.
Asthma + Lung UK explained that higher levels of pollution are found in towns and cities where there is more road traffic.
The charity said: “A lot of pollution is also produced around building sites, factories, power stations, airports and docks.”