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FAQs
What is air pollution?
Air pollution is anything you breathe in that damages the cells in your body. Common air pollutants include the gases nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), and Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter.
Pollutants in outdoor air are called particulate matter (PM2.5) which is a mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air. More detailed information can be found here.What is PM2.5?
PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) is a mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air, which measure less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.
More information can be found here.What is AQI and what does it measure?
AQI stands for ‘Air Quality Index’ – which is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.
To make it easier to understand, the Indian National AQI is divided into six categories23:
What is the average AQI for India?
The AQI value varies depending on which city you are in and also changes on a daily basis. As 10 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India22 it is important to understand the air quality around you – download the DETTOL SiTi SHIELD app for live AQI updates sent directly to your mobile device. *COMING SOON*
How does air pollution affect people’s health?
Air pollutants, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are one of the major causes of ill health and deaths worldwide.1,2,6 Exposure to air pollution has negative health consequences at every stage of life from before birth into old age.6 For information on the health conditions most strongly linked to air pollution, see here.
How does air pollution affect children?
Babies and children are particularly sensitive to the harmful effects of pollutants because they are growing and their lungs, cardiovascular system, immune system and brains are still developing. Air pollution may affect mental, cognitive and physical development.6 For more information see here.
Where can I find information on air pollution in my city?
Government agencies measure air pollution using the Air Quality Index and use this information to inform the public of potential short-term health risk. Today’s reading can be found here. For more localised information, you could consider using a personalised pollution monitor or app such as DETTOL SiTi SHIELD.
How can I avoid air pollution?
There are a number of simple steps you can take to avoid air pollution, see here. You can also protect yourself and your family with DETTOL SiTi SHIELD, an extensive range of pollution protection solutions found here.
Contact us
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Sources
1International Energy Agency. Energy and air pollution report 2016. Available at:
http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WorldEnergyOutlookSpecialReport2016EnergyandAirPollution.pdf Last accessed September 2017
2World Health Organization - WHO releases country estimates on air pollution exposure and health impact.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/air-pollution-estimates/en/ Last accessed September 2017
3Central Pollution Control Board - NAQI status of Indian cities in 2015-2016. Available at:
http://www.cpcb.nic.in/upload/Latest/Latest_119_NAQI-StatusIndianCities-2015-16.pdf Last accessed September 2017
4Royal College of Physicians. Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. Report of a working party. London: RCP, 2016. Available at:
https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollutionLast accessed: September 2017
5STUDY ON AMBIENT AIR QUALITY, REPSIRATORY SYPTOMS AND LUNG FUNCTION OF CHILDREN IN DELHI by CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS.
http://healfoundation.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CLAIM-Report.pdf
6Global burden of Disease Project, University of Washington. Available at:
http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool?params=querytool-permalink/8f5b2231ed20243e1edda8e56f3d0f49Last accessed September 2017
7RB data on file – Mistrall data
8G Roth et al. Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation. 2015;132:1667-1678
9Yixing Du et al. Air particulate matter and cardiovascular disease: the epidemiological, biomedical and clinical evidence. J Thorac Dis. 2016 Jan; 8(1): E8–E19.
10Xing et al. The impact of PM2.5 on the human respiratory system. J Thorac Dis. 2016 Jan; 8(1): E69–E74.
11European Environment Agency. Sources of air pollution. Available at:
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/2599XXX/page010.html Last accessed: September 2017
12RB data on file – product claim memo
13RB data on file – product claim memo
14RB data on file – product claim memo
15American Lung Association: 10 Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air. Available at:
http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/outdoor/air-pollution/10-tips-to-protect-yourself.html?referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/ Last accessed: September 2017
16DETTOL - Tips to protect yourself from air pollution
17Rawlings AV and Harding CR. Moisturization and skin barrier function. Dermatol Ther. 2004;17 Suppl 1:43-8.
18Tong H. Dietary and pharmacological intervention to mitigate the cardiopulmonary effects of air pollution toxicity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016 Dec;1860(12):2891-8.
21Environmental Protection Agency AQI:
https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi
22World Health Organization’s Urban Ambient Air Pollution database ‐ Update 2016. Available at:
http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/cities/en
23Central Pollution Control Board. NAQI STATUS OF INDIAN CITIES IN 2015-16. Available at:
http://www.cpcb.nic.in/upload/Latest/Latest_119_NAQI-StatusIndianCities-2015-16.pdf Last accessed: September 2017
