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News Release Archive
Welcome to the AirCare news release archive. The AirCare program regularly sends press releases to keep our stakeholders, the media and the public up-to-date on general AirCare information.
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Car Pollution Causes Lung Problems
(July 22, 2003)
Air pollution is having an adverse effect on our lungs and health — and emissions from automobiles are a big part of the problem. More than three million Canadians suffer from serious lung diseases. In less than 20 years, respiratory disease in Canada has increased 400%.
Study after study has shown that air pollution is the biggest contributing factor in respiratory disease. The World Health Organization says that three million people die every year from the effects of air pollution. That’s three times more than from automobile accidents.
Pollution from automobiles impact children more than adults because their lungs are still developing. One California study showed that kids there had lost 15 per cent of their lung capacity because of smog. This is not an example B.C. wants to follow.
In the Lower Mainland, emissions from light-duty vehicles account for approximately 54% of air pollution.
The impact on health and children is already serious, as the B.C. and Canadian Lung Associations note:
- 500,000 Canadian children have been diagnosed with asthma. Asthma is the number one reason for childhood hospital visits. The Centre for Disease Control in Canada reported a 300% increase in deaths from asthma over 20 years, mostly in teens and young adults.
- Asthma accounts for 25% of school absenteeism.
- Automobile emissions also play a role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, influenza, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). It can also be a factor in heart disease, allergies, and eye and throat irritation.
- Respiratory diseases account for well over $12 billion a year in health-care costs in Canada. Additional costs associated with disability and death run well over $8 billion. And countless days of work are lost.
It all leads the B.C. Lung Association to declare: "Every individual has the right to clean air. It's for our health today and for our children's continued health into the future."
The AirCare program is playing a vital role in trying to translate those words into action. Thanks to AirCare, air pollution from vehicles in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley was reduced by more than 46,000 metric tonnes in 2002. Emissions were about 35% lower than they would have been without AirCare. And the Greater Vancouver Regional District estimates that between 1985 and 2020, AirCare and other programs will save 2,800 lives, prevent 33,000 emergency hospital visits and will result in a $1.6-billion benefit to the B.C. economy.
This is the third in an eight-part series about vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on our health, climate change, and Canada’s Kyoto Protocol obligations. Check the news release archives on this site for more information about this series and the benefits of the AirCare program.
For more information, contact:
Rashpal Rai
Public Relations
Envirotest Canada, contractor for AirCare
Rashpal.Rai@bc.etest.com
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