Many French people think that the quality of the air is deteriorating and that this has an impact on their health. And they feel they are misinformed about the dangers.
Breathing discomfort, cough, runny nose, asthmatic symptoms… More than 4 in 10 French people report having felt negative effects on their health from air pollution last year. A proportion that is climbing in large cities, and in particular in the Paris region, where more than half of the inhabitants denounce pollution, according to an OpinionWay survey for Generali published on the occasion of National Air Quality Day (1).
A degraded state of health which makes the French say that the quality of the air has deteriorated over the past 5 years. They are, in fact, 52% to think so. Ile-de-France residents are more severe: 68% believe that they breathe less pure air.
More breathable air
And yet, the surveys carried out in recent years show, on the contrary, that pollutants are less and less present in the atmosphere. “Measurements of fine particles, sulfur derivatives or nitrogen oxides show rather an improvement in air quality.
“But what we keep in mind are the pollution peaks, notes Professor Bruno Housset, head of the pneumology service at the intercommunal hospital center of Créteil (Val-de-Marne) and president of the Federation of Breath. However, it should be remembered that the dangers to health are more linked to background pollution than these peaks which the media echo. “
Source: Generalli
Peaks are in fact just the tree that hides the forest. If, during these periods, hospitalizations or consultations for respiratory discomfort increase, daily pollution is the one that causes the most damage to our health. Every day, pollutants build up in our body and damage our lungs, blood vessels and heart. “It is this daily pollution that sustains inflammatory phenomena and causes pathologies and shortens lifespan,” commented Professor Housset.
Change behaviors
Worried during pollution peaks, the French are then more attentive to prevention messages. Many of them then give up playing sports or going out with their children to avoid exposure to pollution.
A large majority are willing to reduce their speed on the roads, not take their car during peak periods or stop using it for several days. “Behaviors that must be adopted even outside of peaks in pollution,” insists the pulmonologist. Road traffic must be reduced and public transport developed. Preserving the quality of the air must be part of our customs and our culture ”.
Source: Generalli
But in reality, this change in behavior is still difficult to achieve. Perhaps because the population feels poorly informed: more than 6 out of 10 French people believe that they do not receive enough information. Young people are the first to complain about it. “This is the main figure that impressed me, but it shows us that we are on the right track”, notes Professor Housset.
With Airparif (2) and the University of Est Créteil, the Fondation du Souffle is developing an e-health platform, called Air education, whose mission is to inform children, teachers and also health professionals about the pollution. The platform should be available in spring 2018.
(1) Study carried out by OpinionWay for Generali with a sample of 1,060 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over, from September 6 to 8, 2017.
(2) Air Quality Monitoring Association
.