A worrying amount of UK adults do not know that air pollution impacts the heart

75 per cent of adults in the UK are unaware of the impact that air pollution has on the heart, data shows.

Global Action Plan (GAP), to mark National Clean Air Day, has released figures which demonstrate how knowledgable the public are about air pollution, and the levels of concern surrounding air pollution.

As stated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), three out of four adults do not know the extent of which air pollution can affect the heart. Furthermore, 96 per cent of parents do not think driving exposes people to the most air pollution when travelling, compared to walking or cycling, even though experiments have proved otherwise. In addition, 43 per cent of participants believe that they are safe from harm with the windows closed, and, since 37 per cent of school journeys are then by car, a large number of children are affected. Finally, 47 per cent of those surveyed believe that facemasks effectively protect them from pollution, although this has been proved untrue.

Simon Gillespie, BHF’s chief executive, said: “Each year in the UK approximately 32,000 people die from a heart attack or stroke related to air pollution. This accounts for 80 per cent of the death toll linked to poor air quality, therefore it is highly concerning that most adults don’t know the damaging effect that air pollution can have on the heart. Although people should not have to risk their health because of the environment they live in, there are practical changes people can make - like cycling or walking - instead of exposing themselves to higher levels of air pollution inside a car. However, crucially we need to see the Government implement bold measures to protect the nation’s health against this hidden killer and we look forward to working with them to make safe, clean air a reality.”

15 June is National Clean Air Day. The campaign seeks to inspire the nation to act on air pollution and engage over 2 million Brits in over 100 events across the UK.