The use of wood-burning stoves should be phased out in urban homes to protect children’s health, leading paediatricians have said.
A new opinion piece from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Cardiology (RCPCH) is calling for tougher government measures to curb air pollution.
One of the key new recommendations is to “phase out domestic firewood burning in urban areas, help rural residents avoid using firewood as their main source of heating, and support people in fuel poverty with fuel subsidies.”
Dangerous
Other measures to protect children include giving local authorities new powers to monitor air quality around schools and act if pollution exceeds safe limits.
The RCPCH said it wanted Ella’s legislation to be introduced and for the Government to follow World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
Ella’s Law is named after Ella Roberta Adu Kisi Debrah, who died in 2013 aged nine from asthma caused by exposure to excessive air pollution in London.
She was the first person in Britain to have air pollution cited as the cause of death by a coroner.
The RCPCH also wants Awaab’s laws to be implemented and expanded to protect private rented housing residents from unsafe living conditions such as damp and mould.
Irreversibly
It’s named after two-year-old Awaab Ishaq, who died in 2020 after suffering from respiratory illness caused by “widespread” mold in the studio apartment he lived in.
The RCPCH also said the UK government should work to ensure that half of all urban journeys are walked or cycled, along with public transport, by 2030.
Dr Mike McKean, RCPCH vice president of policy and paediatric respiratory specialist, said: “This year air pollution officially surpassed high blood pressure and smoking as the biggest cause of disease globally.”
“Exposure to air pollution is now the second leading risk factor for death in children under five, both globally and in the UK.”
“As a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, I am particularly concerned about the impact of air pollution on children’s developing lungs.
“Breathing polluted air during childhood can irreversibly impair lung development, affect lung capacity in adulthood and even cause death.”
Microparticles
“As paediatricians, we want to ensure that no child has to suffer like Ella and Awab.”
Dr Emily Parker, RCPCH Clinical Fellow, said: “As a doctor working in paediatric emergency rooms, I see the impacts of air pollution on children almost every shift.
“I want to protect them from this avoidable harm, but there are limits to what I and clinicians can do through our clinical work.
“That’s why we are calling on the Government to prioritise a national response and tackle the biggest causes of PM2.5 (particulate matter) and nitrogen dioxide – the two air pollutants most damaging to children’s health.”
conditions
“In 2021, the World Health Organization outlined new evidence-based targets for these contaminants, but governments have yet to commit to meeting these guidelines aimed at protecting people’s health.”
“Air pollution limits across the UK are currently set dangerously high – up to four times higher than WHO guidelines – and there are currently no government plans to reduce these levels.”
According to the RCPCH, PM2.5 is one of the most harmful air pollutants and can be inhaled deep into the lungs and absorbed into the bloodstream.
This affects children’s developing organs and makes them more likely to develop long-term health conditions in adulthood.
prevent
The report noted that children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because, in proportion to their body mass, they inhale more air than adults, more ground-level air pollutants such as vehicle exhaust, and they have less ability to control their exposure.
Professor Stephen Holgate, special adviser on air quality to the Royal College of Physicians, said: “The economic burden of air pollution, including the avoidable burden on the NHS, and the harm caused by poor indoor air quality are further evidence that decisive action must be taken.”
“We particularly support the RCPCH’s call to expand the Clean Air Act and the AWAB Act, both of which are essential to protecting our most vulnerable and ensuring a healthier environment for all…
“There is no doubt that cleaning the air we depend on to live could prevent many diseases and save countless lives.”
This author
Jane Kirby is Pennsylvania’s health editor.
