Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, Volume II, Wellbeing and the Environment

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Air Quality and Wellbeing

Ben Croxford

University College of London, U.K.

Introduction

For several decades air quality has been a key concern for urban dwellers in developed and developing nations, with plenty of evidence linking pollutants to health outcomes (Brunekreef & Holgate, 2002). Mainly this has focused on outdoor air quality and much research is based on epidemiological evidence: most results are linked to traffic related pollutants. For example, in 2006 the United Kingdom's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) report found cardiovascular disease to be linked to air pollution with different pollutants found to give similar correlation strengths: “the evidence linking daily cardiovascular deaths with concentrations of particles (measured as PM10 or as Black Smoke), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃) and carbon monoxide (CO) are similar” (COMEAP, 2006).

In most European countries, smoking indoors in public places is now restricted; this is an incredible achievement in reducing public exposure to a major source of pollutants that affect wellbeing. This chapter does not focus on cigarette smoking but it is recognized that this policy action has significantly improved population health in all countries where it has been implemented. For example, in the United Kingdom, following the Health Act 2006 (U.K. Government, 2006), a reduction in heart attack admissions was found (Sims, Maxwell, Bauld, & Gilmore, 2010) and a reduction ...