MANCHESTER’S health bosses have been urged to clean up their act after worrying statistics revealed the city’s residents have a 27 percent higher risk of lung conditions.
Across the north west as a whole, research carried out by the British Lung Foundation highlighted an incredible 3,400 people die early each year due to the air that they breathe.
The organisation are so concerned about the levels of pollution in Manchester that they want to see widescale changes made to what vehicles are allowed in the city and they claim the health of the next generation is at risk unless the issue is tackled immediately.
Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said:
“It is estimated that 3,400 early deaths a year in the North West can be linked to breathing in tiny particles of pollution, mostly from traffic.
“Some of the highest levels of pollution in the UK can be found in our major cities, particularly in Greater Manchester.
“Air pollution is an invisible danger that hits hardest people with a lung condition, children and the elderly.”
Dr Woods is determined to reverse this shocking statistic and has called upon Manchester’s public officials, politicians and health officials to act fast.
She added: “The next Mayor of Greater Manchester must put in place ambitious policies to lower traffic emissions in polluted areas. They must clean up the air with an ambitious low emission zone across the city that aims to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles; protect children’s lungs by increasing pollution monitoring outside schools; and ensure members of the public have the information they need to protect themselves from air pollution.
“This public health crisis must be tackled. Everyone in Manchester has a right to breathe clean air with healthy lungs.”
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